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tomato and garlic focaccia guest post series
Tomato and Garlic Focaccia – Guest Post Series
Written by Jayashree

Focaccia is a type of Italian flatbread which has the basic ingredients yeast, olive oil, salt and herbs added to the dough. The topping can vary from plain just with herbs and oil to meat. This post is  a part of the guest post series that I run on my blog.

It’s time for guest post and I am indeed happy to a bread baking post here, I heartily welcome Mayuri Patel in this small space. She  is a wonderful person and a  good cook who can create dishes from different cuisines with ease. I am always amazed by her enthusiasm in creating these dishes. She blogs at www.mayuris-jkoni.com

With Christmas round the corner and all the baking in mind, here is another one to try Tomato and Garlic Foccacia Without much ado, it’s over to Mayuri now

 

 

 

 

Sometime back Jayashree who blogs at EverGreen Dishes asked me to be a guest on her blog. I promised her that as soon as I got back from my trip to India I would make something for her blog. However, time just flew, with me falling sick and then with Navratri and now Diwali preparations. However, I feel bad when I’ve made a commitment and cannot see it through. Jayashree is quite a busy body, she not only has 3 ebooks published but also runs a popular Facebook Group called Desi Bloggers Connect. I got to know her through some food blogger groups that we both are a part of. Her blog is full of  South Indian recipes, a variety of dals and other recipes from different cuisines. She also loves to write poems. Check out her blog for some delicious dishes.

 

I had decided that I would bake a bread for Jayashree’s blog as I love baking. As a light meal, hubby had suggested I make soup. I asked him to buy some bread on his way back home and he replied ‘ You haven’t baked a bread in a long time’. And he left. So had to put on my thinking cap as to what to bake that will not take too long and too much effort.(does he know I have to make Diwali snacks?)  Focaccia( pronounced as fo-ca-chaa) definitely won the toss over a Middle Eastern bread.

Focaccia is a type of Italian flatbread which has the basic ingredients yeast, olive oil, salt and herbs added to the dough. The topping can vary from plain just with herbs and oil to meat. Here are some ideas for topping that you can use for focaccia:

tomato and garlic focaccia guest post series

tomato and garlic focaccia guest post series

  • caramelized onion
  • mozzarella cheese
  • tomatoes
  • eggplant
  • roasted pepper
  • mushrooms
  • olives
  • cheddar cheese
  • apple slices with gruyere cheese and onion
  • fig and feta cheese
  • red grapes with feta
  • a sweet focaccia
  • pizza sauce and herbs

The options are endless. It is believed that the famous Italian flatbread originated from Ancient Greek culture and Etruscans who lived in what is now Tuscany. The word focaccia comes from the Roman word panis focacius  which means a hearth or fireside bread. Focaccia later on gave rise to the famous pizza. The type of focaccia varies from region to region. Some are extra thin, some are a bit thick and also the topping vary.

Usually, Focaccia is made from plain flour but I decided to use more of the wheat flour and less of plain flour.

TOMATO AND GARLIC FOCACCIA

Makes 12 pieces

For the Focaccia:

  • 2 cups wheat flour (atta)
  • 1 cup plain flour (all purpose flour)
  • 2¼ tsp instant dry active yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1¼ – 1½ cup warm water
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

For the topping:

  • 1-2 tomatoes, sliced

Preparation of the focaccia:

  1. Mix both the flours, salt, sugar, garlic slices and yeast in a bowl.
  2. Rub the oil into the flour.
  3. Add warm water and make a dough.
  4. Dust the worktop with some flour and knead the dough till its smooth and soft.It should stick a bit to your hands. I kneaded the dough for 5 minutes.
  5. Shape the dough into a ball. Rub oil over it.
  6. Grease the bowl with some oil.
  7. Put the dough in the greased bowl and cover it with a damp kitchen towel, a lid or cling film.
  8. Place it in a warm place for the dough to ferment till its about double the size. Mine took about 1 hour.
  9. Grease a baking tray with about 2 tbsp of olive oil. I used a 25 X 35cm tray.
  10. Gently slip the risen dough onto the greased tray.
  11. Put your fingers under the dough and slowly stretch it out to more or less fit the tray.
  12. Let the dough rise again for about 30 minutes.
  13. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  14. Using your fingers, make dents all over the risen dough gently.
  15. Arrange the sliced tomatoes over the risen dough.
  16. Sprinkle the salt and the rosemary over the risen dough.
  17. Pour the oil over the topping, use a brush to smear some oil over the tomato slices.
  18. Bake the focaccia in the hot oven for 20-25 minutes till it appears light golden brown.
  19. Remove the tray from the oven.
  20. Let the focaccia cool down a bit. Cut into squares and serve it warm with a salad, soup or as a starter with some chili oil.

Tips:

  • Use ripe but firm tomatoes.
  • Wheat flour tends to need more water so add accordingly.
  • Sprinkle sea salt on top instead of Himalayan pink salt.
  • Add garlic slices on top if you wish.
  • Don’t reduce the amount of olive oil required as you want the base and sides to be a bit crunchy.

 

tomato and garlic focaccia guest post series

tomato and garlic focaccia guest post series

Tomato and Garlic Focaccia Bread

Focaccia is a type of Italian flatbread which has the basic ingredients yeast, olive oil, salt and herbs added to the dough. The topping can vary from plain just with herbs and oil to meat. 
Course Breakfast, evening snacks, lunch
Cuisine international, Italian
Keyword baking, bread making, focaccia, tomato and garlic focaccia
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12 bread
Author Mayuri. Patel

Ingredients

  • 2 cups wheat flour
  • 1 cup plain flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon instant dry active yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 1/4- 1 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2-3 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  • Mix both the flours, salt, sugar, garlic slices and yeast in a bowl.
  • Rub the oil into the flour.
  • Add warm water and make a dough.
  • Dust the worktop with some flour and knead the dough till its smooth and soft.It should stick a bit to your hands. I kneaded the dough for 5 minutes.
  • Shape the dough into a ball. Rub oil over it.
  • Grease the bowl with some oil.
  • Put the dough in the greased bowl and cover it with a damp kitchen towel, a lid or cling film.
  • Place it in a warm place for the dough to ferment till its about double the size. Mine took about 1 hour.
  • Grease a baking tray with about 2 tbsp of olive oil. I used a 25 X 35cm tray.
  • Gently slip the risen dough onto the greased tray.
  • Put your fingers under the dough and slowly stretch it out to more or less fit the tray.
  • Let the dough rise again for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  • Using your fingers, make dents all over the risen dough gently. Arrange the sliced tomatoes over the risen dough.
  • Sprinkle the salt and the rosemary over the risen dough.
    Pour the oil over the topping, use a brush to smear some oil over the tomato slices.
  • Bake the focaccia in the hot oven for 20-25 minutes till it appears light golden brown. Remove the tray from the oven. Let the focaccia cool down a bit. Cut into squares and serve it warm with a salad, soup or as a starter with some chili oil.

Notes

  • Use ripe but firm tomatoes.
  • Wheat flour tends to need more water so add accordingly.
  • Sprinkle sea salt on top instead of Himalayan pink salt.
  • Add garlic slices on top if you wish.
  • Don't reduce the amount of olive oil required as you want the base and sides to be a bit crunchy.
About the author:

Mayuri Patel is the author behind the blog www.mayuris-jkoni.com which was started as a way to keep all the inherited recipes intact. She has many kind of recipes from different cuisines of the world. She is an active member of Blogging Marathon, Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge  and Monday Blog Hop. Besides, blogging and cooking she love to read books and watch movies. She is an active member of Lions Club of Mombasa Bahari. Do follow Mayuri on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

If you have liked this post, do share it further. If you ever recreate this recipe, do take a picture and tag me @foodiejayashree on Instagram or @evergreendishes on Twitter, I will be glad to see and share your creation.
  Closing now for today, if you have not subscribed to my blog, fill the form below to get all updates in your inbox.
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mayurisjikoni
5 years ago

That’s so sweet of you Jayashree, all those praises. Thank you so much for letting me be a guest on your blog.

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Hello and Welcome to my blog! I am Jayashree from India. An enthusiastic blogger, with a zest for life.  I believe in living life to the fullest.

Cooking has been my passion. I have always loved to try new recipes.  Writing has been a feel good factor and extremely  loving it. With these two passions of mine, my culinary blog was born. Read More…

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Cooking is a wonderful job if you love it. It helps you to make tasty dishes for your loved ones. But it can be a chore, if one has many errands at hand. Thus, one needs to cook efficiently. It can be done by using the handy hints which make cooking easier, by saving the time or making better dish by using an ingredient instead of other. Here are a hundred handy hints which I have put them in two different categories. One is store wise and the other is cook wise.

Get your Free Copy Today

Cooking is a wonderful job if you love it. It helps you to make tasty dishes for your loved ones. But it can be a chore if one has many errands at hand. Thus, one needs to cook efficiently. It can be done by using the handy hints which make cooking easier, by saving time or making a better dish by using an ingredient instead of other. Here are a hundred handy hints which I have put in two different categories. One store wise and the other is cook wise.

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