Daily Focaccia

[james]

We make Focaccia most nights when we don't have a good hearth bread in the house. It's so simple and it is so much better than most bread you can buy. It's better in a brick oven, but it also does pretty well in a conventional oven.

It is basically a pizza dough recipe, laced with good olive oil. More oil in the baking tray and on the dough, and a sprinkle of oil when it comes hot out of the oven.

I use the Caputo flour, which is great for a light flatbread like this. Bread flour also works.

James

[CanuckJim]

James,

I've experimented a bit with focaccia recipes and found something you might want to experiment with. Most recipes call for AP flour, but Peter Reinhart uses bread flour, which, I think, makes a better bread. However, you might try mixing half bread flour and half fancy durham flour. The result is interesting.

Jim

[james]

Jim,

I made a focaccia tonight with my Giusto's bread flour. You can definitely see the difference from the Tipo 00 flour. I also experimented with a pizza stone temperatures, but more on that later.

The high gluten bread flour has more density in your hand when you are kneading, and the final bread had more substance. I think mixing it with half AP might lighten the final result. It might be a little heavy and the holes too dense for a flat bread.

What should I look for with the durham flour?

James