Wheat Foccacia with Basil

I bought Alice Waters' "The Art of Simple Food" a while ago - maybe even a year ago. I glanced at it, put in on the shelf, and forgot it. I discovered it again a couple of days ago and started reading it. This is not just a cookbook - it's a set of ideas and principles that teach you how to improvise. As I was reading this, I kept picking new items I wanted to make. So I've change my plans for dinner tonight, and I'm making homemade foccacia. Since that's a bit of work, I'm changing the menu tonight to pasta with a red sauce I canned last week. The foccacia will be the star.

As she suggests, I used her recipe as a guide, but I've made quite a few modifications. It takes about 6 hours start to finish, but a full 5 1/2 hours of that is waiting time. The original recipe uses only unbleached white and rye flours, and no basil. I mixed it up a little to get in wheat flour and to use up some of my basil.

Wheat Foccacia with Basil
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm (110 degree) water
1/4 cup rye flour
1/4 cup unbleached white flour

2 cups unbleached white flour
1 1/4 cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, or chopped rosemary, or chopped sage, or grated parmesan cheese.

1. Combine the yeast, warm water, 1/4 cup rye flour and 1/4 cup white flour in a small bowl. Mix well. Let stand for 30 minutes, until mixture is very bubbly.
2. 
   Combine the next 3 dry ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the yeast mixture, water, olive oil, and basil. Using the dough hook, knead on low speed (1-2) for 5 minutes. (You could also knead it with your hands if you want. I'm lazy). Turn dough out into a large oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm area for 2 hours. (In the picture at right, I didn't let the dough rise long enough - 90 minutes. I was in a hurry. The extra 30 minutes would have made a big difference)


3. When dough has doubled in size, gently place into an oiled jellyroll pan (about the size of a cookie sheet, but with sides). Pressing from the center, gently push the dough out to the edges of the pan. Handle the dough very gently, so the air stays in it. Press into the dough with your fingertips to create dimples, then brush the dough with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Cover and let rise 2 hours more. (Risen and ready for the oven)
   
4. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it on the bottom rack. Preheat the oven and the stone for at least 30 minutes.


5. Sprinkle the foccacia with 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, or chopped rosemary, or chopped sage, or parmesan cheese. Bake for 18-25 minutes, until top is golden brown. Turn out onto a rack and let cool.

The smell of this drove my whole family wild while it was baking. It's hard to wait. It was really good. The result was a little flatter that it should have been - it needed to rise a little longer. Also, the wheat flour make the bread coarser and chewier, which we like. If you like a light, airy foccacia, make sure you use only unbleached white flour.

Next time I make this, I'm adding roasted garlic to the dough and topping it with oven-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese. It wil be great with a salad. This pretty simple one was spectacular dipped in marinara sauce.