Thomas's Focaccia - Recipe from Root's Alumni Kitchen Team
One of our Root Alumni Kitchen All-Stars, Thomas, recently shared his recipe for focaccia bread. Since graduation from Root in 2019, Thomas has been following his passion for baking. In addition to his work in the Root kitchen, baking and making deliveries for Root's Community Catering, Thomas recently completed a Baking and Pastry certificate at North Shore Community College. He developed this recipe for focaccia bread for our community meals last summer, and it has been in regular rotation on the menu ever since!
Thomas's Focaccia
Ingredients:
6 1/4 cup of bread flour (30 oz or 850g)
2 tsp active dry yeast (from one 1/4 oz packet)
Pinch of sugar
2 tbs of diamond crystal OR 1 tbs Morton kosher salt
5 tbs extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for greasing & drizzling
Flaky sea salt
Directions:
Combine flour and 1/2 cups of room temp water in a bowl of stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Mix on low speed, scraping down sides and hook as needed to incorporate any dry flour, until a shaggy dough forms.
Remove dough hook and cover bowl with plastic. Let sit while you prepare the yeast (you can leave the dough in this state for up to two hours).
Stir yeast, sugar and 1/2 cup of warm water with a fork in small bowl to dissolve. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about five minutes.
Pour yeast mixture into stand mixer bowl and mix on low speed until dough absorbs all additional water, about one minute (pulse mixer on and off a could times at the very beginning to prevent liquid from splashing).
Add kosher salt and continue to mix, increasing speed to medium, until dough is extremely elastic and very sticky (it will look more like thick batter and will stick to sides of bowl), about five minutes.
Pour 3 tbs of oil into a large (preferably glass) bowl and swirl to coat sides. Scrape dough with large spatula or flexible bench scraper.
Cover and place in a warm spot until dough is doubled in volume, 2-3 hours. If using a glass bowl, it’s helpful to mark the position of the dough at the beginning to assess the rise more accurately (dry erase marker or tape works).
Drizzle two tbs of oil over an 18x13 inch sheet pan and use fingertips to rub over bottom and sides.
Using large spatula or flexible bench scraper, fold dough inside the bowl a couple times to deflate, then scrape onto prepared baking sheet.
Using oiled hands, lift up dough and fold over onto itself in half, then rotate baking sheet 90 degrees and fold in half again.
Cover dough with a piece of well oiled plastic and let rest for 10 minutes to let gluten relax.
Uncover and go back in with oiled hands, gently stretching dough (to avoid tearing) across length and width of baking sheet in an even layer, working all the way to edges and into corners.
If dough starts to spring back, let sit 5-10 minutes and start again. Cover again with the same piece of oiled plastic and chill at least 8 hours and up to 24.
Let sheet pan sit in a warm spot until dough is puffed and bubbly and nearly doubled in height, 45-65 minutes (if you’re using a standard half sheet pan, it will have risen to the very top of the sides).
Meanwhile, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
Remove plastic and drizzle dough generously with more oil. Oil hands again and press fingertips firmly into dough, pushing down all the way to the bottom of the pan to dimple all over.
Sprinkle generously with sea salt.
Bake focaccia until surface is deep golden brown all over, 25-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Slide a thin metal spatula underneath focaccia to loosen from sheet pan (it may stick in a couple places, so use some elbow grease to get underneath) and transfer to a wire rack.
Let cool completely before cutting as desired.
Do Ahead: Focaccia can be baked 1 day ahead. Tightly wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.
Photo by Alex Lau
