Focaccia (Olive Oil Bread with Fresh Rosemary)

As you can tell, I did a lot of baking/cooking today. In fact, I'm no where near done posting recipes for all the things I made today! It was very very rainy and there were a bunch of recipes I wanted to try out. This recipe comes out of the Tassajara Bread Book (thank you Alex for getting me this a few years back) - it is THE BIBLE FOR BREAD MAKING. I cannot praise this book enough. If you already bake bread, or are considering learning how to, please run out to your nearest local bookstore/Borders and buy this book now. Not available in a brick and mortar store? Order it on Amazon....NOW!

Focaccia Bread

Adapted from the Tassajara Bread Book

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water, under 125 degrees Fahrenheit
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast (3 packets)
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unbleached bread flour (I use King Arthur flour)
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 
  
• 3 cups unbleached bread flour
• olive oil for glazing
• coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Stir the yeast into the water, then the rosemary, olive oil, and salt. Stir in the one cup of bread flour and the 1 and a half cups of whole wheat flour. Beat about one hundred strokes.
2. Fold in two cups of bread flour, one-half cup at a time. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for several minutes using up to one more cup of flour to keep the dough from sticking. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic.
3. Let the dough rise for about an hour until it doubles in size. Punch don and let rise for another 40 minutes.
4. Divide the dough in half, shape into two loaves.
5. Place on an oiled pan and brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
6. Let rise for 20 minutes, and then bake at 375 degrees for about 28 minutes until browned, top and bottom.

TIP: place a pie pan of boiling water on the bottom of the oven to help a crust form on the bread.