Back of the (Giant) Bag: Rosemary Focaccia

I buy my bread flour at Costco in 25-lb. bags. I make pretty much all of our bread. Pretty lucky family, right, to come home to the smell of fresh bread and eat a piece hot off the loaf? Nope. The real treat is when I'm too busy to make hamburger buns or sandwich bread and they get to eat "store bought" bread. Grass is always greener, I guess...


So I was dumping my bag of flour into the giant storage bin I use to keep it, and noticed a recipe on the back for rosemary focaccia. We have rosemary growing as a ground cover and I certainly have enough flour--what the heck, I'll give it a try.


Rosemary Focaccia
3 cups bread flour
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. or 1 package instant active yeast
1 1/3 c. warm water
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. dried rosemary leaves
Combine flour, salt, sugar, yeast, water, and 2 Tbsp. oil. Mix until dough is pliable. Knead on floured board until smooth. Place dough in oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, 45 minutes. Coat baking pan with oil and gently press the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Brush remaining oil over the top.


Make dimples in the dough (clearly, this is the best part).


Sprinkle with Parmesan and rosemary. Let rise 20 minutes. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Janet's Notes: I made the dough in the bread machine, decreasing the water to 1 cup. I added fresh (not dried) rosemary straight into the dough, not sprinkled on top. I also used 1 Tbsp. loose yeast instead of one individual package because, you guessed it, I buy my yeast from Costco as well.

You have to take a photo with olive oil next to it; I think it's some kind of Italian bread photography rule.