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Christmas celebrations and delectable meals are almost a tradition in itself. Focaccia is one of many Christmas dishes that goes well with almost everything. Just like brioche bread, it can be sweet or savoury.
When it comes to enjoying focaccia bread, this versatile treat can be enjoyed with a variety of companions like soups, meat, vegetables, pasta, sausage, and any other dish. [Go straight to recipe]
If you want to make this year’s Christmas more festive, we have an incredibly flavourful Focaccia With Garlic Confit And Rosemary recipe that could enliven your Christmas feast.
While most bread has a domed structure, it’s different for focaccia. Focaccia is known for its flat surface.
Even though it uses similar ingredients and techniques to regular bread, a focaccia recipe yields a delicious flatbread with a golden brown and crispy outside.
A focaccia's signature look is its dimples on the top. Those dimples are due to the “dimpling” process where the dough is gently pressed with fingers so that it creates little indentations.
These dimples aren’t simply for aesthetic purposes — they also have an important role in deflation reducing the air. When we want flatbread, it is important to keep the dough from rising.
One of the ways to prevent rising dough is by poking the dough with your fingers, so it forms dimples that will result in flatter bread when you bake it.
The ideal method to dimple your focaccia is first, you can drizzle olive oil all over the top or wet your fingers with it.
Then, gently push your fingers into the dough. Make sure you are not poking it all the way down as it will create leaks.
Dimpling your focaccia can also intensify the flavour of your focaccia since the olive oil is being pushed deeper into the dough.
Kneading is the process in a focaccia bread recipe that allows the bread to have the perfect structure. It is a technique in making the dough come together, a technique which includes stretching and increasing the gluten contained in the dough.
If you want a quick and easy kneading process, an electric stand mixer will be immensely helpful.
However, kneading by hand is fun too! All you have to do is stretch, fold, and rotate your dough repeatedly until the dough becomes smooth and elastic..
For a complete step-by-step kneading of the dough with your bare hands, you can learn it here.
Hate kneading? Try This No Knead Cinnamon Nutmeg Raisin Bread.
Focaccias can be adorned with different toppings and flavours to make your own unique bread.
If you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, you can top your focaccia with chocolate chips, maple syrup, dried berries, powdered or even granulated sugar.
Meanwhile, when it comes to making savoury focaccia, there are many more options.
The most famous of all is the garlic and cheese focaccia recipe which includes freshly baked focaccia bread topped with garlic, butter, herbs, and parsley. Here's one we made with rosemary and olives!
There are also other combinations, like rosemary potato, veggies focaccia, black olives, caramelised onion, broccoli, mozzarella sandwich, and our authentic Christmas focaccia: garlic confit and rosemary.
WATCH:
Yield: 30cm x 30cm pan / 10-12 servings
Note:
*This can be replaced with any vegetable oil, but extra virgin olive oil will give the focaccia more intense flavors.
**You can infuse chili flakes into the garlic confit to add some heat to your focaccia.
Storage/Serving notes: Lasts up to three days. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature. Can be served on its own or dipped in an olive oil and parmesan combo. This is also a great substitute to your regular sandwich bread.
Addtional notes***: At Step 8 of making the focaccia, you can let the dough rest up to 24 hours.
Instructions: In the same greased bowl as before, shape your dough into a ball and cover your bowl using plastic wrap. Let your dough slowly rise in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours; this will give your dough more time to ferment and, therefore, develop more structure and flavors. Make sure you grease your plastic wrap to prevent it from sticking to the dough. If doing this, store garlic confit in the fridge in an airtight container.
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