This is one of the more spontaneous things I have made. My parents were in town and I wanted to make some homemade bread, but didn't want to get my recently cleaned kitchen dirty by having to roll and kneed dough all afternoon. So I started perusing Pinterest for something that would be pretty easy to make and wouldn't dirty up a lot of dishes. I stumbled across a focaccia that was baked in a cast iron skillet. The original author put a bunch of vegetables on their bread however, and made it look like a flower bouquet. I didn't have the time, nor vegetables to do that, so I opted for rosemary garlic since the rosemary in my garden is currently out of control.
Between the 4 of us, this was gone within 15 minutes. Plus it fills the house with the most delicious smell!
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 hr 15 min
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
Pinch of salt
Olive oil (at least 1/2 cup)
2 1/2 cup flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped into small pieces
1/2 tsp coarse or flaky sea salt
DIRECTIONS:
Gently stir yeast and warm water at the bottom of a bowl for a stand mixer and let sit for 5 minutes.
Add sugar, a pinch of salt, 1/3 cup olive oil, and flour and mix on low with the dough hook attachment for about 8 minutes. the dough should start pulling away from the sides of the bowl by the 6th minute. If it doesn't, add a 1/4 cup more flour and continue to mix. If it still won't pull away from the sides of the bowl, add a little more flour and mix again - it should still remain slightly sticky to the touch.
While the dough is stuck to the hook of the mixer, wipe the inside of the mixing bowl with a little olive oil. Place the dough back into the bottom of the bowl, and coat the top of the dough with a little more olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 10 inch cast iron skillet with about a tablespoon of olive oil.
Take the dough out of the mixing bowl and press it into the bottom of the cast iron skillet. Make a bunch of little holes and divots with your fingers in the dough as you press down.
Brush the top of the dough with another tablespoon of olive oil then sprinkle with garlic, rosemary, and the sea salt. Cover again and let rise for another 20 minutes.
Uncover the dough and bake for 25 minutes. The bread should be light golden brown when you remove it from the oven. Immediately remove the bread from the skillet and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
Drizzle with more olive oil and serve warm, cut into wedges!
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