Focaccia with Caramelized Onions

[altivo]

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions
Originally uploaded by Altivo

Incredibly easy to make, tasty too, and healthier than pizza. Photo also features a handwoven towel made from handspun cottons, and an old-fashioned flour scale that I use for baking.



Focaccia with Caramelized Onions

1 cup water
3 cups unbleached bread flour (12 ounces)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. diastatic malt powder or 2 tsp. sugar
1-1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 large onions

If you have a bread machine, combine all ingredients but onions in machine and run dough cycle. Otherwise, dissolve malt or sugar in water along with yeast, then add olive oil and salt. Mix in flour gradually until dough can be kneaded, then knead it down smooth and let it rise covered for an hour or so.

When dough is ready, punch it down and let it rest on a floured board for ten minutes. Preheat oven to 375°F. Meanwhile peel and slice up the onions, and toss them into a heated skillet with a little olive oil. Reduce heat, as you want the onions to cook slowly until they soften and turn golden. Don't brown or scorch them, but do stir frequently. This is like making stir fry only very slowly.

Spread dough out on peel or baking sheet that has been sprinkled liberally with corn meal. Dimple the surface with your fingertips, and let it rise for 20 minutes while you keep stirring the onions. When the onions are soft and the dough is puffy, spread softened onions over the top of the bread and sprinkle with a little more olive oil (a teaspoon or two is all you need.) If using peel and pizza stone, slide the bread gently onto the stone from the peel. Otherwise, just pop the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until crust is crisp and golden. Try to let it cool a bit before eating because the onions will burn you. ;D

Comments

[scruff.livejournal.com]

Ooh. That looks very tasty indeed! :9

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Smells good too. I figured you'd probably like it. :D

[bonnie-tiler.livejournal.com]

consider recipy knicked, I will try it tomorrow as I'm making bread anyway.
Looks really tasty..
Happy Easter to you both, from a snowy Orust -12 c (10,4 F) at the moment.
Fire is on and the dog is keeping it warm..lol

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You can use up to a third whole wheat flour if you like, and it's still good. Same dough, other toppings work: shredded cheese (but less healthy), or brush with olive oil and sprinkle with some coarse salt, or smear a little tomato sauce on and sprinkle with basil or cilantro leaves. It's also good with olives, but I like to chop them up and mix into the dough.

Happy Easter to you too. Yesterday's snow is already melting here.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Wow, that looks good!!!! :3~~~~~~~

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yup, it is. I'm practicing up for my visit to aerofox and loriana in May. I promised to cook. XD

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Cool...are you going out for Hamvention??? If so, I'll see you there!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I wish. No, quickcasey and I will be there a couple of weeks before the Hamvention.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Awwww :/

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree. I'd love to see you and Kodian. But it's probably better not to overload Aero and Lori all at once, too. ;p

[calydor.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I love focaccia! Always wondered how to make them, but never thought to Google a recipe or ask you. :)

I looked up yeast in the dictionary, since my main familiarity with the word was medical, and still a bit stumped on what exactly it -is-. I'm assuming it's what's called 'gær' in Danish; the ingredient that causes the bread to rise when left unattended for a while. Am I correct in this, or do I need to call the local hospital for a sample before I make this? ;)

[calydor.livejournal.com]

Almost forgot - here in Denmark it's very popular to make them with a couple of thin slices of salami or similar as toppings, much as if you were making a mini-pizza.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Olives or bruschetta make good toppings too. Or sardines or anchovies if you like them. I like thin slices of tomato when ripe ones are available in summer.

[calydor.livejournal.com]

Sea food isn't me, I'm afraid, but I'll note the suggestion and see if my mom wants to try it.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

"Yeast" in baking is usually Saccaromyces cerevisia, the same species that ferments beer and wine but a slightly different strain. Yep, I imagine it's the same as what you use to raise bread dough in Denmark.

"Active dry yeast" is packaged especially for bread making. The yeast is in fine pellets that will keep for many months as long as they are dry, but it revives quickly when mixed with water and a little sugar. If your leavening comes in moist cake form, then it should still work, just use about half the amount you would normally add to a recipe for two loaves of bread. ;p

[calydor.livejournal.com]

These pellets, would they be about 50 grams? If so, we're talking about the same thing.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Umm, no. What we get here is very small pellets, about the texture of cornmeal. You'd only know they were pellet shaped if you looked through a lens at them.

Europeans and Americans make the same breads though, and typically there are only two choices for leavening. One is the brewers' yeast that I'm talking about, and the other is "wild" yeast or sourdough, which is normally kept in the form of a wet paste of flour that is fermented by the bacteria. Either one will make focaccia, in any case. You may have to adjust the dough making process to use whatever methods you would normally use with gær. Brewer's yeast works quickly, using sugar to produce carbon dioxide. Sourdough yeast usually can't do much with sugar, and works more slowly using the starch in the flour itself.

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

Dear Rider.

Bear will like this but with a bit of shredded cheese on top as well. I may make it for him today. Have not been using the bread machine much lately so this is a good excuse. Of course our oven is a junker but I can keep a close eye on the temperature since I recently bought a new oven thermometer. Is a matter of turning the oven on and off with constant monitoring (pain in the hindquarters) but works.

Imperator

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Cheese is good, but of course adds a lot of fat and cholesterol, so do it sparingly. I like this because it gives me the same bread crust as pizza, but without all the guilt. ;p

Other things that are good include chopped olives, or sweet peppers cut in thin strips, or even hot peppers (sparingly). I like thin slices of ripe tomato and fresh basil leaves.

Since it only bakes for about 30 minutes, shouldn't be too hard to keep the oven monitored. Oh, and if you have whole wheat flour handy, try substituting part of the flour with that. Up to one third of the total flour. It gives a nice crunch and flavor.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

That reads well enough that my taste buds are awake.

I love that pic, nicely done.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been meaning to take more pictures of that sort of thing. This one did turn out well.

Familiar

[doug-taron.livejournal.com]

I've seen this recipe before. Heck, I've made this recipe before. Of all of the focacciae that you have provided recipes for, this and the sundried tomato are my favorites.

Re: Familiar

[altivo.livejournal.com]

We like it too, though I admit my favorite is just the plain bread slathered with olive oil before baking. ;p

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

The onions burn!!!