Foccacia Bread

Playing around with dough is one of my favorite things to do. I am endlessly facinated at the microbial process that happens when little yeasty bugs are introduced to flours and sugars, and burp out flavorful gasses that give rise (literally!) to all kinds of breads. It can be a time-consuming venture, however, and I haven’t made a lot of bread this year. But with some time on my hands and a brick of fresh yeast that has to be used up I thought I’d get back into a little home bread baking. I mixed and kneaded a pound of flour, some milk, yeast, sugar and salt into a maleable dough, plopped it into a greased bowl and let it rise over the warm oven for an hour until it more than doubled in size and took on a spongy consistancy. I gently pushed on the dough and was rewarded with the poof of escaping gas and the beer-haus smell of active yeast. I folded the dough over a couple of times to redistribute the yeast bugs and develop a little more gluten, coverd the bowl and popped it into the fridge to retard. The cold slows down the yeast’s growth and allows richer flavors to develop. I kept it in there, occasionally giving it a little kneading and turning, for two days. Then I pulled it out, cut the dough in half and returned one half to the fridge (it is destined to become pizza dough later this week), and formed out a loaf into a small square pan with the other half. I let it proof on top of the oven for an hour and a half, until it had warmed, the yeasties awoken and gone about their digestive business, and the loaf had doubled in volume. I brushed the top with olive oil and sprinkled it with crushed garlic, fresh chopped rosemary, and pink Hawaiian sea salt flakes. I put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until the top had developed a nice, toasted marshmellow golden color. I pulled out the pan and let the loaf sit in it for about 5 minutes, then turned it effortlessly out onto a cooling rack. The whole kitchen was filled with the delicious aroma of baked bread. I let the loaf sit for another 30 minutes to set up while I made the rest of dinner(more spaghetti with homemade whole wheat noodles, which came out much better this time, softer with a smoother texture and better flavor).

The loaf sliced without crumbling and the inside was as soft as a pillow while the herby, garlicy, salted crust provided a great contrast.