A Simple Focaccia Bread

Focaccias are horribly good and simple to make. Horribly good because they're so simple, you just want to make them everyday. And because they're so good, you just want to eat them all the time.

Focaccia is a popular Italian bread that is usually baked with a light topping ontop. The word Focaccia simple means oven-baked flatbread in Italian. My simple Focaccia recipe is simple and delicious. I used to have reservations making bread in general because well, i had some not so good experience with the results. It was either too hard or it just won't rise as I want it to rise. But I have to say that it was because i lacked patience and that i knead too much.

You have to be gentle with your bread and have patience too, then you'll be rewarded at the end ;)

The focaccia bread is really a no fuss bread because all you need to do is technically mix everything together and let it rise once before you can use it. Other bread recipes might call for you to let the dough rise several times before you bake it. So really, who need loaf breads when they can have focaccias ;)

You can add a bit of dried herbs into your liquid if you want, like basil or oregano or rosemary :)

So my Simple Focaccia Bread recipe goes like this:
1.5 Cups of all-purpose flour (a little extra if needed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons sugar
1/2 a packet of yeast (1 packet is approx. 28grams)
1/4 cup lukewarm water + 1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup water (and extra if needed)
10 black olives, chopped up finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 tablespoon of olive oil

Toppings:
Olive oil
Basil
1 tomato, sliced
thin slices of parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
*cook's note: you can use any toppings you want actually. Parmesan cheese is not a must, you can try different cheeses if you want like cheddar, mozzarella or gruyere. Just use your imagination. But becareful to not overload the topping, it's not a pizza (although you can make it into one), it's a focaccia ;)

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or 180 C
1. First, soak your yeast into 1/4 cup of lukewarm water and sugar. Stir and wait for about 10-15 minutes for the yeast to activate. You can tell when it's activated when you the mixture foaming.
2. Combine flour, salt, and sugar. Mix to combine and make a well in the middle. Add the garlic, olives, olive oil and your yeast solution. Mix the center of the flour well and then gradually add water until a soft dough is form. You might need to pour the dough out onto a working surface to knead a little. Don't over knead, your dough must be slight soft and sticky but not unmanageably so :)

3. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour, punch it down and let it rise again if you want. Letting it rise a second time ensures that your bread is fluffier. It's not a necessary step in focaccia although it would make a difference in its texture. So after that, just roll it out on a floured surface and then move it to a greased baking sheet.
4. Drizzle some olive oil on the top of the flatten bread and spread with your fingers, add your basil first, then tomatoes and cheese. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and drizzle a little bit more olive oil on the tomatoes.
5. Pop it into the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until the edge of the bread is slightly pale golden.
Take it out of the oven and eat it with your favorite pasta OR just as it is. You can also make a sandwich out of this bread but really, eating it alone is sooooo perfect. :)