Rosemary & Garlic Focaccia

I’m a sucker for a good panini. One of my favorite sandwich shops is just down the street and they make a bunch of their paninis on house-made foccacia bread and they are to die for! The breakfast panini on rosemary foccacia bread is high on my list of breakfast favorites! Not only are their ingredients always fresh, the sandwiches have unique combinations and the flavored breads make it just that much more delicious!

Rather than go hunting through grocery stores around Chicago, I decided that it really couldn’t be too hard to make my own. And I was right. It was a really simple recipe, not much of a rise time, very little kneading and you didn’t have to wait until it fully cooled to indulge.

Rosemary & Garlic Foccacia Bread

• 3.5 cups AP flour
• 1.5 cups warm water
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp instant dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 heaping Tbsp of fresh rosemary, chopped
• 3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, water, salt, yeast, garlic powder and sugar. Combine until thoroughly mixed and knead dough for about 5-10 minutes until all ingredients are fully incorporated. It will be a bit tacky. Drizzle the ball of dough with olive oil and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
2. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil or rub down with olive oil. Lay dough onto the pan and spread it out forming one thin layer. Poke holes in the dough with your fingers, make sure to poke the hole all the way through to the other side. This will create the craggy shape of traditional foccacia bread.
3. Let is rise for another 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile combine 3 Tbsp olive oil, garlic and rosemary and heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to infuse the flavors into the oil. Drizzle herb oil over the top of the dough evenly. Sprinkle a small amount of coarse kosher salt all over the top.
5. Bake at 425 degrees for 18-22 minutes until golden brown. Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing.