My favorite focaccia bread

INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil

TOPPING:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1 tablespoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary or any other rustic italian seasoning you might have on hand.
optional: green olives, caramelized onions (i like to use red), roasted garlic on the side.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix warm water and sugar with yeast. Let stand about 5 minutes. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour to the bowl. Dissolve salt in 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the mixture. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a counter and knead a few times. Form the dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes - 1 hour.

Coat a sheet pan with a little olive oil. Once the dough is doubled and domed, turn it out onto the counter. Roll and stretch the dough out to an oblong shape about 1/2-inch thick. (a rolling pin works best.) Lay the flattened dough on the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven 400 degrees. Brush the dough with olive oil before adding your toppings. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Whole Wheat Foccacia

I just replaced the sugar and flour used in this recipe with honey and whole wheat flour and voila !

Water ~ 250ml
Olive Oil ~ 2 TBLS
Salt ~ 1 tsp
Honey ~ 2 tsps
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 3 cups
Yeast ~ 2 tsps

Add ingredients to bread maker in order listed and use the 'dough' setting.

Press dough into a lightly greased pan. I used baking paper.

Cover and stand in warm area for 30 min or til doubled in size. (I always fill the sink with hot water and stand my doughs on top of that to make it warm ... works well)

Remove cover, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with rock salt.

Bake in pre-heated oven 200C (400F) for 30 (mine only took 20 minutes) minutes or until golden brown.

Rosemary and Sea Salt ...

I wanted to make Andrea's Rosemary and Sea Salt Bread last week but was out of butter.
Since we weren't shopping I had no choice but to not make it.
Grrrrrrr ... (that's me growling in disgust !)

Instead, I stuck to what we had planned and made foccacia.
But, I added Rosemary and Sea Salt to the top and it was AMAZING !!



~ Rosemary Flower ~

Reposting ...

... this here on the Beans Blog because I've made my other blog private and people have asked for this recipe !!

This was so delicious that Jono told me he "loves this kind of meal" and gave me a big hug right there at the dinner table !!

It's a crock pot recipe that I got from Chick In The Kitchen. Her recipe calls for ground turkey but I used ground beef. I made a few other changes too so I'll post the way I made it here. You can check her recipe out and make it her way, my way or even your own way ! That's the great thing about cooking !!

I decided to try making focaccia bread too. It was soooo good ! I've never made it before. Don't know why ! The recipe for it is the next page over from the recipe I use almost every week to make pizza dough in my bread maker !!! Anyway, I'll be making it again, that's for sure !

Focaccia
(recipe from the book that came with my bread maker)

Water ~ 250ml
Olive Oil ~ 2 TBLS
Salt ~ 1 tsp
Sugar ~ 2 tsps
Flour ~ 3 cups
Yeast ~ 2 tsps

Add ingredients to bread maker in order listed and use the 'dough' setting.

Press dough into a lightly greased pan. I used baking paper.

Cover and stand in warm area for 30 min or til doubled in size. (I always fill the sink with hot water and stand my doughs on top of that to make it warm ... works well)

Remove cover, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with rock salt.

Bake in pre-heated oven 200C (400F) for 30 (mine only took 20 minutes) minutes or until golden brown.

Slow Cooker Meatballs

(see Chick in the Kitchen for original recipe using turkey)

2 lb. (1kg) lean ground beef ( mince )
1 egg
1/4 c. fine, plain breadcrumbs
a big handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
garlic chives ~ chopped
2 tbls (?) fresh oregano, finely chopped
ground black pepper to taste (about 6 turns of the grinder)
2 (500ml each) jars of your favorite pasta sauce ~ I used an extra garlic one

Add all ingredients — except for the sauce — to a large bowl, and mix with your hands until well-combined.

Roll meat into golf ball-sized balls, and layer into the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour the jar of sauce over the meatballs so they are completely covered.

Place lid on your slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours.

Serve on top of pasta of your choice ~ I used vermicelli.

And of course, I served it with the yummy focaccia bread !!! Mmmm Mmmm good !!!

***EDITED THURSDAY ***
I wanted to join in Sandra's Slow Cooking Thursday !
This is such a yummy recipe !!!
Come back after you've tried it and let me know what you think !!