My Focaccia Bread.......

Yesterday I baked a Focaccia bread kneading it in my Thermomix. It is an Italian oven baked flat bread which is so simple to make. All you need is some high gluten flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water and olive oil. I added some Parmesan cheese powder and finely chopped fresh herbs of rosemary and thyme to the dough. Focaccia dough takes up more water than a normal bread and so it is has more moisture and stickier. Here is a recipe to share.
I use gram here because my TM 21 can weigh all the ingredients plus the liqiud while I add in the ingredients one by one.

Ingredients:

500g high protein flour
100g/ml milk
250g/ml water
20g/ml olive oil
10g sugar
15g dried yeast/3 tsp
5g salt/ 1 tsp
50g Parmesan cheese powder
1 tbsp of freshly chopped mixed herbs(Rosemary, basil or parsley)

Method: Using Thermomix.

1. Put water, milk, dried yeast, and sugar into TM bowl. Set temperature @40 C, speed 2, for 10 seconds to warm the liquid. Next add in flour, salt, herbs, Parmesan cheese powder and olive oil. Set @ 20 seconds speed of 6 to mix the ingredients.

2.Then set timer to 2 1/2 minutes and press 'Knead' button to knead the dough.

3. Take dough out from bowl and place on a lightly oiled large bowl and leave covered with a damp cloth to rest for 45 minutes to an hour in a warm corner of your kitchen. ( I put the whole bowl in a clean plastic bag and tied up.)



4. Take the risen dough out of bowl and put on a lightly floured surface to prevent it from sticking it to the surface. Press both fingers on the dough to flatten it. Fold both ends together and flatten it again with hands. Do it few times to clear out the air.


5. Place dough in baking tray lined with non stick paper. Brush or drizzle olive oil on the flatten bread and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.(I sprinkle some sesame seeds in addition to the cheese because I love the smell of sesame)

6. Bake the dough in a preheated oven of 220 degree Celcius for 40 - 45 minutes til golden brown.


For those who do not have a thermomix, omit method 1 and 2 and replace it with this method here:

1. Place water, milk, sugar and yeast in a bowl and rest for 5 minutes. Its better if the milk and water is lukewarm but not hot so that the yeast will proof better.

2. Put flour in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the yeast mixture. Fold in the flour with hands to combined and knead into a soft smooth dough.

The baked focaccia bread is moist and soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Son R 's dinner of Focaccia bread with creamy mushroom soup, pork chops and salads.