HOW TO MAKE SOFT and CRISPY FOCACCIA BREAD

Today .

I'm gonna show you how to make .

Wait , what are we making ?

Oh Yeah .

Oh Yeah .

OK .

I'm gonna show you how to make this is so easy .

Yeah .

Hey , everybody .

It's Natasha of Natasha's kitchen dot com .

And I'm gonna show you how to make a classic Italian .

The texture of this is incredible .

So crisp on the outside , super soft inside .

And you don't have to wait overnight .

This is quick to make very little active time and wait until you see our favorite bread dip .

You're gonna love it and I want some bread .

So let's get started .

We'll start with 1.5 cups of warm water .

And I like to have that between 100 and 10 to 100 and 15 F .

I'll leave a link to the thermometer .

I use in the notes .

Stir in one teaspoon of honey until it's dissolved , then add in one packet or 7 g of instant yeast .

Once the yeast is stirred in , let that sit and rest for about 5 to 7 minutes or until you see a foamy layer on the surface .

This indicates that the yeast is good and it'll help jumpstart our recipe .

We're using our favorite digital kitchen scale and I will leave a link to this in the notes .

Zero out your mixing bowl and we're gonna get exactly three of 3/4 cups or about 470 g of all purpose flour .

If you don't have a kitchen scale , make sure you measure correctly .

Spoon the flour into a dry ingredient , measuring cup , then scrape off the top .

Now whisk in 1.5 teaspoons of salt , pour your yeast mixture into the center of the flour .

Use a mixing spoon to stir that together until the liquid is incorporated into the flour .

And you don't see any more dry flour .

You should end up with a sticky mass of dough .

Next , add one tablespoon of good extra virgin olive oil and use your hands to mix it in work the oil into the dough until it's fully absorbed .

Now cover the top with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature until it's visibly puffed if you're working in a colder environment or want to speed up the process .

Try our microwave trick .

Add a damp towel to the microwave for about a minute to heat it up , then turn it off and place the bowl inside letting it rest while the dough is proofing .

I like to make the topping ahead of time .

So the oil infuses with rosemary and garlic flavor in a small mixing bowl .

Combine two tablespoons of water with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil , half a teaspoon of salt .

And we'll need about 1.5 teaspoons of finely chopped rosemary from two rosemary sprigs .

Simply pull the leaves off of the sprigs and finally chop them up also finely mince and add two large garlic cloves .

Now thoroughly mix that topping together until it's well incorporated .

This topping makes the bread into a garlic rosemary and it tastes amazing .

But if you want to , you can also just use olive oil water and salt for a simple topping .

You can see the dough is visibly puffed and about double in size to keep your hands from sticking to the dough , dip them in a bowl of cold water .

Now to get that irresistible FAA texture , we need to develop the gluten strands in the dough gently pull the dough up on one side without tearing it , then fold it over onto itself , rotate the bowl and repeat the process until you've done four stretch and folds , pull up gently , making sure not to tear the gluten strands .

Now cover the bowl and let it rest and puff for another 30 minutes repeat the stretch and fold process three more times , making sure to cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes .

Between each time we're going to do the third set of four stretch and folds , letting it rest for 30 minutes afterwards .

After the fourth set of stretching and folding .

We're going to transfer the dough right away to a well oiled baking pan .

I love using a nine by 13 pan for because you can make it thicker , which works great for sandwiches .

Add 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil to the bottom of a nine by 13 pan .

Now transfer the dough over the oil and turn it to coat the dough in oil , gently stretch the dough to fit the pan .

If you find it's difficult to stretch the dough and it doesn't want to budge , just cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes .

Then work the dough to the edges of the pan .

Yeah , once the dough is relaxed , it's much easier to stretch .

Just be sure to gently stretch the dough without tearing it .

Once you finish stretching your dough and it's about the size of your baking pan cover and let that proof for about 45 to 60 minutes or until it's visibly risen and puffy .

Now to create those classic foa dimples , dip your hands into cold water , then press them directly into the dough .

Press them in quickly and firmly .

Without breaking all the way through the dough .

It'll look a little bit like playing the piano .

I like to go over the dough two or three times to create plenty of dimples quickly .

Whisk your garlic rosemary topping in case it's separated , then evenly drizzle it over the top of your .

Now last but not least Sprinkle about a teaspoon of kosher salt over the top of your now bake in the center of a preheated oven at 450 F for 22 to 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown .

I love to bake for 25 minutes giving it a chance to form a great crisp edge .

Once it's out of the oven , transfer it right away to a wire rack .

You wanna get it out of the pan so that the bottom doesn't get steamy .

Otherwise you'll lose that crispy crust .

Now , let it cool for at least five minutes before slicing into it .

Right .

Our bread is just a little bit warm still and that's ok because I am getting a rather impatient .

I want some of this .

My kitchen smells so good right now .

I'm just gonna go for it .

Let's do this taste test .

I want to show you what's inside .

Check this out .

Ok .

Here we go .

Look at this .

Getting close .

Yes , it is so tall and fluffy .

Make this and it'll become your new favorite bread and thankful it's easy .

I mean , you can get started on a dinner party and start your bread and have it ready by dinner time .

You don't have to wait overnight .

That's the best part .

Seriously .

Ok .

And then ok , so everything about this is good from the top to bottom .

Look at this crisp crust .

Listen to the crunch how we are , I'm excited .

OK ?

For obvious reasons because I get to eat this .

OK .

Now you can serve this as like a dinner bread .

I'm gonna show you that dip in a second here .

I'm gonna cut some pieces or you can use it as the best sandwich bread and this bread will make a sandwich person out of you .

It is marvelous as my son would say , still smells so good , so good .

OK .

Here we go .

Just cut it into little squares here so we can get to this taste test faster .

All right .

Now it's time to serve this and the a dip that I was telling you about .

I learned this in an Italian restaurant and it's so easy and so good .

And it also looks really fancy .

So if you're throwing a dinner party , try this seriously .

OK .

So all you need is some good extra virgin olive oil .

I'm gonna put this in a shallow dish , pour that into a little rain , followed by some balsamic vinegar and a crackle of fresh black pepper .

Alright .

Let's get this taste test rolling and seriously is not like any other bread .

Everything from the texture to it smells so good .

And then it has a ton of flavor .

You can change this up and add so many different toppings , check out my notes and my post to see more ideas , but this has to be my favorite .

All right , we're going in going in for the sauce .

I hope you try it with the sauce .

It's so easy and super yummy .

Ok .

And because there's a lot of olive oil already in this bread , it's what makes the crust so crispy .

It's just a perfect match to dip it in some more .

Why not ?

Ok .

Ok .

Oh .

Hm .

Mm .

This makes me so happy , crispy crust .

So soft .

I mean , it's like melt in your mouth .

Cotton , soft inside and the top you can really taste the rosemary and the garlic .

I love that .

It's infused in the oil so it just kind of penetrates the top of the bread .

This is a must try and my kids love this .

So I'm gonna get my son in here for a taste test .

David .

Come on over , taste this .

Pick a piece .

Any piece .

He went for the big one .

Take a bite .

Oh , you hear the crunch .

How is it good ?

Yeah .

Like favorite ever .

All right .

We're gonna enjoy our bread .

I hope you guys make this recipe today and the sauce and we'll see you in our next video .

Hey .

Ok .

Oh , surely , honey .

This is so good .

Come and get some .

Mm Back .

For more .

Back .

For more .

Hey , let me finish my bread .

More sauce .

Hm .