No-Knead Simple Focaccia Bread

- freezes well (whole or sliced) - option to use any dried or fresh herbs, veggies, eggs, etc as toppings

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Water temperature should be around 90-100°F based on typical house temperature. Range accounts for season (house tends to be colder in winter so water should be warmer, and house is warmer in summer so water should be cooler). To achieve this, pour hot water in one jar and cold in another. Use a thermometer, pour hot or cold water into another jar, stir and keep adding until you have enough water at the desired temperature.

Step 2

Weigh all of the ingredients separately before you begin. This helps keep everything accurate. Use smaller bowls for ingredients in smaller amounts, like yeast and salt, to get the most precise reading.

Step 3

In a large bowl, disperse the yeast into the water with a gentle swish of your fingers, like making a bubble bath. Let it sit for a couple of minutes. You should see a light foaming from the yeast, letting you know that it is feeling lively and ready to go to work for you.

Step 4

Add the flour on top of the water and yeast. Last, sprinkle the salt on top of the flour. This keeps it from coming into direct contact with the yeast, which can inhibit the rise. Mix. I like to use my hands. If you have an aversion to getting a bit sticky, a nice, sturdy wooden spoon can do the trick on this wetter dough. I think hand mixing is really helpful for feeling that the ingredients are well combined. The ingredients should come together easily and produce a slack, wet dough.

Step 5

Let your dough relax for about 20 minutes so the flour can absorb the water a bit. Make yourself a cup of tea, my friend. Cover bowl with lightly damp tea towel if needed to keep dough moist.

Step 6

Stretch and fold the dough, which will give it strength so it can hold its shape in the oven later. Imagine that your dough has four "corners." Pull each corner up and stretch it over the top of the dough to meet the opposite side. Visualizing a clock on the top of your bowl of dough, pull the 12 o'clock corner up and down to 6. Pull the 3 o'clock over to 9, then the 6 o'clock up to 12, and the 9 o'clock over to 3. Work your way around the clock two or three times, until the dough becomes a tight ball and is no longer loose and stretchy. You have just achieved some gluten development!

Step 7

Place a floured kitchen towel over your bowl, and let the dough rise for 1 hour and 30 mintutes. TIP: put the covered bowl in the oven with JUST the light on. This little bit of heat helps the dough rise better and minimizes the effect of inconsistent house temperature. Don’t accidentally turn the oven on! You can put a post it note on the oven controls as a reminder.

Step 8

At 1 hour 30 minutes, the dough should be noticeably lighter, larger, and filled with air bubbles. To double-check, fill a cup with water, pinch off a little ball of your dough, and drop it into the glass. It should float to the top, indicating that your dough is aerated. Nice! If it doesn't seem particularly buoyant, it might be a cold day at your house. No worries. Let it rise a bit longer and check it again in 30 minutes or so.

Step 9

Oil a Dutch oven or 16-by-24-inch rimmed baking sheet. Pull your dough out of the bowl and drop it directly onto the sheet. Pour the olive oil over the dough and start gently stretching the dough toward the edges. Using your fingertips, dimple the top of the dough, but be gentle - you don't want to press all of the air bubbles out of your dough. Sprinkle the thyme and sea salt over the top of the dough.

Step 10

Let the dough rest in the pan and preheat the oven to 475°F. Set one oven rack in the center position and one in the lowest position. Don't worry if vour doush starts to shrink back after being stretched. The dough will relax if you give it time.

Step 11

Focaccia needs a bit of steam for the first few minutes of baking to help it rise, this is achieved differently depending on whether or not you are using a Dutch over (see below notes). Bake with steam for 10 minutes. Remove lid or roasting pan and let any remaining steam out of the oven. Bake for additional 10 to 15 minutes, until the focaccia is golden brown. - If using a Dutch oven, create steam by keeping the lid on for the first 10 minutes. TIP: put a baking sheet on the lower oven shelf during this portion of the bake. This ensures the bottom does not bake faster than the top. Remove the baking sheet when the Dutch oven lid is removed. - To create steam without a Dutch oven, place a roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven and let it preheat. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it's about 1 inch deep. Slide the baking sheet with the dough onto the center rack for the first 10 minutes. Then take the roasting pan with water out of the oven for the remaining bake time.

Step 12

Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

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