Rosemary Focaccia Bread

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

My friend has a rosemary bush that produces like crazy and he brings me branches of fresh rosemary for cooking after he trims it! Friend garden trimmings are the best repeat gifts <3 My favorite thing to bake with fresh rosemary is focaccia bread. There is nothing better than a fresh yeasty bread smell filling the house and I am certain that there is nothing better in this world than the comfort of a freshly baked loaf. This focaccia recipe is as easy as it gets but takes a little patience with rise times. You can costumize this recipe by removing the rosemary and adding any ingredients you like to the top of the dough just before baking!

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
olive oil

Directions:
Sprinkle the dry yeast over 2 cups of warm water, stir, and let sit for 10 minutes. Then, add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture and stir well. Knead the sticky dough on a floured surface until the dough forms an elastic and smooth texture. Form the dough into a ball and add it to a well oiled bowl. Cover in plastic and let it rise untouched for about 1.5 hours in a warm place.

*Tip! If you don’t have a warm window in your home, boil a pot of water and put it on the lower rack of your oven to create a warm humid box. Place your bowl of dough on the top rack and it will rise! Resist the urge to open the oven door during the rising process.

Punch down the dough, return it to the bowl, cover, and let it rise for another 45 minutes. Punch down dough and transfer it to a well oiled baking sheet and let it rise one more time in a warm spot uncovered for 25 minutes. Press your fingers into the dough to create indentations, rub a thin layer of oil over the surface, sprinkle the rosemary, and bake at 475F for 20 minutes or until the top starts to crust and brown. Serve fresh out of the oven or wrap after slightly cooled to save for later.