Home-made Focaccia

Are you in the mood for a tasty home-made Focaccia? Let me tell you there is nothing better than the smell of freshly baked focaccia filling your home…. Well, there is one thing better and that is the taste of a freshly baked still warm from the oven focaccia!
Making focaccia does not have to be a lengthy and difficult process. Let me share a little secret and this works especially well if you are in a rush. Focaccia made from fresh store bought dough is simply just amazing!

Our little supermarket sells ready made fresh dough. You can ask the bakery section, they will usually sell you a bag full of bread dough. This bread dough works so well for so many different recipes.
Some of our favorite uses for this dough is making round buns that’s brushed with a little bit of melted garlic butter before baking. Another favorite is shaping round dough balls (Like buns) then filling a round cake tin with the dough balls. Sprinkle some brown sugar over the dough and carefully add +/- one cup of cream in between the balls. Then bake. This bakes into a wonderful sweet, almost caramelly sweet bun…. (I can eat everything by myself! 😉) Anyway back to this easy to make focaccia.

For this recipe you will need the following:

Ingredients

1 bag store bought bread dough
Olive oil, enough for a light coat over the dough and pan
Salt, freshly grounded
Black pepper, freshly grounded

Directions

Lightly grease a large baking tray with some olive oil. (Mine was around +/- 30x 45 cm)
Remove the dough from the packaging and place it onto the prepared baking tray. Use your fingers and push and stretch the dough to fill the pan. The dough is very stretchy so keep working the dough until it fills the baking tray.
Lightly smear some olive oil over the dough, just enough to make a thin coating. Cover the dough with a clean dish towel or some clear wrap. Allow the dough to rest in a warm spot for 20 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 180 ˚C.

Once the dough has rested use your fingers and make several dimples onto the dough. Sprinkle with freshly grounded salt and pepper.

Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden brown. Once baked allow the focaccia to cool for a few minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack. Cut in to squares and enjoy still hot.

Store leftovers in a airtight container for up to two days. But this focaccia is best eaten freshly baked.

Home-made focaccia variations

Play around with different flavors to create your own masterpiece. Here are some delicious ideas:

Before baking melt 1/3 cup butter and add 1-2 teaspoons of crushed garlic. Brush this over the focaccia and bake.
Follow the basic recipe, add your favorite herb along with the salt and pepper. Dried rosemary or basil works well.
Follow the basic recipe and just before baking add some halved cherry tomatoes, olives or even sundried tomatoes.