Sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic focaccia recipe

Sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic focaccia

I was supposed to go to a potluck on Sunday afternoon, so I made this sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic focaccia. I was covered in hives, though, from an encounter with a friend’s cats*, so I ended up staying home. I ate almost the entire pan of focaccia myself. It’s tasty, and it’s super easy to make.

Sun-dried Tomato and Roasted Garlic Focaccia Recipe

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus some for drizzling)
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
6 cloves roasted garlic, chopped
Dried herbs (I like oregano, thyme and basil OR rosemary) – about 2 tablespoons
1/2 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese

Spray a 9″ x 13″ pan with nonstick spray (or lightly grease it), and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.

Combine the water, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, flour, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer , and beat (using the beater paddle, not the dough hook) for 30 seconds at high speed. Add the tomatoes and garlic and beat for another 30 seconds. The batter will be VERY sticky.

Scrape the batter into the pan and spread it evenly in the pan. I find the easiest way is to use a wet dough scraper, aided by wet fingers. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise for an hour, until it’s really puffy. During the time the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Oil your fingers with olive oil and poke dimples all over the top of the dough. Drizzle it with olive oil, and sprinkle with your dried herbs.

Bake 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then on a rack. Tasty warm or cooled.

This is my own variation on King Arthur Flour’s Blitz Bread.  I love that recipe and use it as a base for a lot of different things. It’s my go-to recipe for potlucks, because it is so easy and takes so little time, but people are always impressed and eat it like crazy.

* I am not sure it’s her cats. For over a year, whenever I go to her house, if I sit on her couch, I get hives wherever I touch the couch. Her couch is actually a futon, and she washes all of the coverings on it in the exact same laundry detergent I use on my bedsheets, so it’s not that. Nobody else has this reaction, so it’s not bugs or anything. Her cats are a different breed than mine (mine are the feline equivalent of mutts, hers are Abyssinians), so my working theory is that it’s her cats.  All I know for sure is that I’m never sitting on her couch again.