Focaccia Bread... for everyone!

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The first installment of bread making went well.  Full disclosure: I've been making bread for years, I just don't feel like I do it well. It never rises enough, I never know when its done, the flavor or texture isn't what I expected, am I kneading it right? is it too sticky? is it too dry?...etc. etc. etc.

So, my goal is to CONQUER bread. I want it make it with confidence every time. I don't want to be intimidated by bread!

I decided to start with the recipe I've made the most and feel most comfortable with: Focaccia bread. The recipe I use is from Epicurious and was originally published in Gourmet Magazine circa 1997.  I am not retyping the entire recipe here, because I want you to go to the Epicurious listing and read it there and also read the reviews and comments from users. Like Amazon, Epicurious users LOVE to comment and add suggestions. I find this extremely helpful!

What you should know about this recipe: 
  • This recipe is large. It makes two 9"x13" pans of bread. It freezes well, or you can share with your neighbors!
  • It is versatile. Use it as a side for soup, use it as a bread for Paninis, or as a crust for pizza. 

My deep thoughts on bread making:
  1. Have patience. Despite the fact that patience is not a virtue I possess. Perhaps this has always been part of my trouble with making bread. Since bread making often requires the dough to rise twice, you also need time. You cannot rush it and there are no shortcuts. 
  2. Use good yeast.  Platinum Yeast promises more rise (and I believe it)! Make sure its not old. If you don't know how old it is, throw it away and buy new. Its very inexpensive. 
  3. Use fresh flour... again, follow #2 advice. 
  4. Rotate your pans!  You'll see in my photos that I did NOT rotate pans during baking and I had some seriously uneven browning.  It affects the consistency, look, and (if you brown too much) the taste. 
  5. Try again. If you feel like it failed the first time (or two), all you're out is a little time and a little money.  Flour and yeast are cheap and you still learned something in the process (hopefully.)
It may seem like we share our successes on this blog, but I also want to share failures... because, well, we ain't perfect. 

Fail #1

I didn't rotate the pans. I know better. I rotate the pans 1/2 way through ANY baking I do, but I got lazy and it showed. 

Fail #2

I have made this recipe at least a dozen time.  Every time I've baked the bread on a rimmed cookie sheet and it always came out so thin. I REALLY read the directions this time to discover that it calls for 9" x 13" pans.... which is considerably smaller than the cookie sheets I had been using..  I mean, really? How did I miss this for YEARS? 
Uneven browning due to not rotating the pans. 
Before the first rising.


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