Focaccia with Roasted Vegetables
Focaccia is one of the easiest and most delicious breads to make. When you are craving something more than a handful of crackers to satisfy, break out the flour and try this simple and quick recipe!
The word focaccia is derived from the latin word for hearth. Pronounced fuh-kaa-chuh, it is historically a flatbread baked on a hearth, and it likely originated in the Etruscan area of Northern Italy predating the Roman Empire. Similar flatbreads were also common in Greece and the Middle East. Focaccia differs from pizza dough in that it is allowed a second rise before baking, while pizza dough is baked after flattening, giving focaccia a softer, less chewy, consistency than pizza crust.
Focaccia is delicious eaten on its own as an accompaniment to salads or soups or stews or pasta dishes, but it is also a delicious base for sandwiches of many kinds. It can be used as the bread for any gourmet sandwich filling, or try focaccia topped with your favorite vegetables and/or melted cheese and eaten with a fork and knife.
We love to bake our focaccia with a topping of coarse salt and fresh rosemary. And sometimes we’ll add shallots or garlic as well. It is a versatile bread and very easy and quick to make. Unlike many yeast breads, it only needs a couple of hours of rising time so it lends itself to a bit more spontaneity than some other yeasted breads.
I’m ALL about spontaneous cooking as I like to see what we are in the mood to eat most of the time rather than planning my meals out way in advance. Some see this as a character flaw - I like to think of it as an asset to gracious hospitality :-)
Another terrific feature of this recipe is that it makes two 8” pans, so you can freeze one for later and have COMPLETELY effortless fresh baked focaccia on another day!
What I make focaccia for most often is hot open faced vegetable and mozzarella sandwiches. I had this sandwich first at the Nordstrom’s Cafe near me and it was love at first bite. The sweet caramelized roasted veggies and creamy melted cheese on top of a salty, delicious slab of carb…what’s not to love?? For bonus points, it is even a vegetarian sandwich!
Sadly, they took it off the menu after a year or two, and I was forced to figure out how to recreate it at home. Luckily, it turned out to be quite simple, and so it has become a staple for lunches or simple suppers in our house!
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The focaccia recipe I use is adapted from the Williams-Sonoma mini cookbook, Make Ahead from their Food Made Fast series. And the dough is made in a food processor (one of my kitchen essentials) with 4 ingredients you probably have on hand plus water, so super quick and easy.
While the focaccia is rising, I roast the veggies, that way once the focaccia is baked, final assembly and a quick trip under the broiler are all you need whenever you are ready to serve!
Focaccia Recipe
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
5 tsp (2 pkgs) active dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
coarse salt and fresh rosemary, chopped (optional)
Directions
Generously oil two 8” square baking pans (I have also used a single 9” x 13”).
In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, yeast, and salt. Pulse to mix.
Add the warm water and olive oil and pulse until a dough forms.
Turn dough into an oiled bowl and cover to rise until doubled (about 1 1/4 hrs).
Divide the dough between prepared pans and pat and stretch to fill, cover and let rise again in pan about 1 hr.
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Brush the dough with a generous amount of olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and fresh chopped rosemary if desired.
Dimple the dough in a 4 x 4-ish grid pattern by pressing with a fingertip or the handle end of a wooden spoon.
Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
Let cool briefly in pan on a wire rack, cut and serve!
Open Face Roasted Vegetable and Mozzarella Focaccia Sandwiches
4-6 servings
Ingredients
One 8” square of baked focaccia, cut into 4 generous or 6 average size servings
~1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
olive oil
coarse salt
1 ball fresh mozzarella or burrata, sliced
Directions
Preheat oven to 400ºF
Oil a rimmed baking sheet and spread the tomato halves and pepper slices in a single layer, tossing to coat with oil. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
Roast vegetables until caramelized and just beginning to char, about 30-40 minutes.
Assemble the sandwiches: top a piece of focaccia with a layer of roasted vegetables and top with a generous slice of the mozzarella or scoop of burrata cheese.
Arrange the sandwiches on a rimmed baking sheet and place under a broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 5 minutes…watch carefully to make sure the edges don’t burn!
Plate the sandwiches to serve, adding a generous drizzle of balsamic creme.
Serve with a simple green salad.
Enjoy!!
*note: if you need emergency balsamic creme and don’t have a bottle of it on hand, simply boil some balsamic vinegar (one of our pantry staples) until reduced to a syrup consistency.