The Green Apron

There’s nothing better than fresh bread. I’ll admit it I’m a gluten addict. This probably explains all the weight I carry around Anyway, my Mom made this focaccia bread for my very first Christmas Eve party this past year and it was a hit. Its really easy to make just a little time consuming because you need to let it rise repeatedly and rest. The ingredients list is also short and you can make it your own by altering the spices and toppings.

Focaccia Bread

7 cups bread flour

3 1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon yeast

2 tablespoons coarse salt

olive oil

• stir  flour, water and yeast with mixer
• cover mixture and let rise for 2 hours
• add salt and mix on low speed with a dough hook for 3 to 5 minutes
• scrape down the sides of the bowl with spatula
• when the dough begins to cling to the bowl increase speed to medium for 15 seconds
• scrape the dough onto a well floured surface
• fold the dough into itself by thirds. Top, sides and bottom last
• move your dough folded side down into a floured bowl
• cover with plastic wrap and let rise one hour
• return to floured surface and repeat folding then move back to bowl and let rise again one hour

• preheat oven 450 degrees
• move rack to lower 3rd of oven
• coat a 17×21 sheet pan with olive oil ( around 1/4 cup)
•  place dough on sheet pan
• flip to coat both sides with oil
• push the dough towards the edges
• cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes
• while plastic is still on push the dough toward the edges again
• remove plastic wrap and season. ( I used sea salt, pepper, garlic powder and Italian seasoning) other toppings might include chopped olives, fennel onions, minced garlic, chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until evenly browned,  rotating half way through
• remove bread from pan and cool on wire rack

Tomato Basil Brushetta

4 Vine-ripe Tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon shredded fresh basil or 2 teaspoons of dried basil

• mix lemon juice, olive oil and basil in a bowl
• chop tomatoes and mince the garlic
• add to liquid  and stir
• let sit in the refrigerator for 4 hours

This recipe is super easy and taste great when paired with focaccia bread and soft mozzarella. The key is to get good vine ripe tomatoes.

Focaccia Bread and Tomato Basil Brushetta

Tags: appetizer, basil, bread, foccacia nbread, The Green Apron, tomato brushetta