While it snows in many areas of the country, it’s currently pouring in Southern California – something that doesn’t happen a lot, but has been happening more over the last month. As everyone here says, “we need it”, but it’s chilly and makes for indoor days! Enter this bread – it’s warm, easy, delicious, and perfect on a cold, rainy (or snowy) day. If you’re currently stuck inside, I highly recommend this bread! It combines some delicious flavors – rosemary, garlic, and olive oil, with bread, and you can’t go wrong with those. Pair this with some pasta, soup, stew, or just enjoy on it’s own. You can also use it as the base for a breakfast sandwich – delicious!
For this recipe, I use a cast iron skillet – and I believe that gives this a lot of the flavor and crunch. You can use a round 9″ cake pan, but it’s really best in a skillet. Here’s a great one you can get from Amazon (this isn’t a sponsored post, just my preference!) –Amazon, Lodge Cast Iron Skillet – Lodge is my favorite brand for skillets and anything in the cast iron family because they’re affordable but last!
Easy Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water not too hot or too cold, just warm – like Goldilocks would want
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt first in bread, second on top
- 1/4 cup extra virgin oil oil for inside the dough + 2 tablespoons olive oil (for bottom of skillet and top of bread)
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour may need a little more depending on weather*
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir together and let sit for 5 minutes, until slightly bubbly.
- Next, add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 1/4 cups flour to the mixture. Stir in with a spoon until combined. You will need a little more flour to make the dough come together, and when it starts to get too sticky (and spoon gets stuck), switch to mixing by hand.
- Lightly flour a clean, dry surface, and knead the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes. It will be a little sticky, but needs to be more combined – You may need up to a 1/4 cup extra flour. You want to be able to press on the dough, and don’t want it to completely stick to your fingers.
- Oil the large bowl that the dough was started in, and shape the dough into a ball, coat it lightly with oil, and place it in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 45 minutes.
- Once that time has passed, coat a 10-inch cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Punch down the dough in the large bowl, transfer it to the skillet, and press it into the bottom of the pan. Using a sharp knife, score the top of the bread in a crisscross pattern.
- Brush the top of the bread with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle it with the minced garlic, rosemary, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Cover the bread loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise for another 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- After the bread has risen for the second time (the 20 minutes), remove the plastic wrap, and place the skillet in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the skillet right away (carefully) to maintain the crust! Place it on a wire rack to cool.
- Enjoy!
Notes
If you make this recipe, remember to tag me on Instagram @bread_andbreakfast, and use the hashtag #breadandbreakfast
