So many people I know, who are excellent bakers, have a fear of baking with yeast. I used to be one of those people but then one day I decided…what could it hurt? I could always give it a try and if I couldn’t do it for whatever reason, I could go back to buying my bread from our local bakery or popping dough out of a can and calling it homemade bread.
Over the years I have discovered that baking with yeast is absolutely nothing to be fearful of. I started out by following recipes with very detailed instructions but eventually was able to use more of my own intuition as I navigated the recipes. One of the things I do not love about bread baking is that it can be time consuming. This is why I now use a shortcut step in all of my bread baking. Unless I have some stress to relieve during the kneading process, I use my bread machine dough cycle to do all of the time consuming work and then bake the bread in the oven. Now making homemade bread is one of the simplest tasks that takes place in my kitchen and it is the one thing that I get the most compliments on from others. Everyone loves fresh–from-the -oven homemade bread!
The recipe I’m sharing with you today is a great recipe for a beginning bread baker. What I like best about this recipe is that at 4 p.m. you can think, “Hey, I’m making soup for dinner tonight…it would be great to have some homemade bread with it,” and by dinnertime you can have fresh, homemade bread on the table. It’s low maintenance, full of flavor and very versatile. You can change up the spices and seasonings to suit your taste.
If you have a fear of baking with yeast, give this recipe a try. With a little practice, you can kiss those store bought cans of dough goodbye!
Foccacia Bread
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 dash ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings of your choice (I usually just go with something simple, like fresh black pepper and Kosher salt)
1. In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil, and black pepper.
2. Mix in vegetable oil and water.
3. When dough has come together, put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in bowl, and turn to coat with oil.
5. Cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm place 25 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
7. Punch dough down, place on greased baking sheet.
8. Pat dough into 1/2-inch thick rectangle (doesn't have to be perfect).
9. Using your knuckle, make indentations in the dough about 1/2-inch apart, then prick dough with fork.
10. Brush top with olive oil, then sprinkle with your choice of toppings.
11. Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.