Onion And Garlic Focaccia

" This is the best thing you ever made ".......... this is what my husband said after having this Focaccia bread. And I said , then what about all those dishes which I made during past 8 years of married life ? He did not answer this, and I too left the conversation at that point. Some times, some things are better left unspoken...right? 

And now coming to the bone of contention I.e the Focaccia, I got the basic olive oil dough recipe from the book Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day. This is the first recipe I tried from this book and enjoyed a lot. There is no kneading required and the result is one delicious bread. Serve it for breakfast or stir up some soup and enjoy your dinner.

Ingredients: 

Basic Olive Oil Dough Recipe: ( This is the original proportion for the dough but I have halved the ingredients while making the recipe) :

Lukewarm Water- 2 3/4 Cup

Instant Yeast- 1 1/2 Tablespoon

Salt- 1 1/2 Tablespoon

Sugar- 1 Tablespoon

Olive Oil- 1/4 Cup

All Purpose Flour- 6 1/2 Cups

Other Ingredients which I added in the dough: 

Chopped Spring Onions- 3 Tablespoons

Garlic- 3 Cloves (Pounded)

Green Chillies- 2 or 3 (Crushed)

For Topping: 

Olive Oil- 2 Tablespoon + 1 Tablespoon for greasing

Red Onions- 1/4th of small onion ( Thinly Sliced)

Italian Seasoning- 1 Teaspoon

Coarse Sea Salt- For Sprinkling On Top

Procedure:

• In a food container which has lid add in luke warm water, yeast, salt, sugar, spring onions, garlic, green chillies and olive oil together so that everything is mixed well.
• Then in that mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon. If the dough is too sticky, use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
• Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top) approximately 2 hours.
• The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise but I refrigerated the dough overnight as it is easier to handle cold dough.
• Twenty minutes before baking pre heat the oven to 425 Degrees F with an empty broiler tray on any shelf.
• Grease the baking tray with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and set aside. 
• Take out the dough from the refrigerator and with the help of little flour shape it into a ball. Now place the ball in the prepared baking tray and with the help of hands press the dough from all sides, flatten it as thin as required. Keep it covered with a damp cloth for resting for about half an hour.
• Meanwhile heat 2 Tablespoon of olive oil in a small pan. Add in onions and sauté until softened but not browned. Keep it aside.
• Now after the dough has rested make some indentations with thumb in the dough. Sprinkle the sautéed onions along with its oil sparingly over the surface of the dough. Do not add lot of onions else the surface may not brown attractively. 
• Sprinkle Italian seasoning, coarse sea salt on top of the dough.
• Now before keeping the tray inside the oven, pour 1 cup of hot water in the empty broiler tray which is already inside the oven. Place the baking tray inside the oven and quickly shut the oven door. 
• Bake for about 25- 30 minutes or till the crust if golden brown in colour. Baking time may vary according to the thickness of the focaccia.

Serve warm.

Linking this to Vardhini's Bake Fest hosted at Tomato Blues.