Dear fellow focaccia-baking friends, Is your bread risen? Is your oven hot? Here's what you do: Remove the plastic wrap from your focaccia. (My, how pretty.) Stipple the dough again with your fingers. Yep, you want to do it both before and after the rise; that's how you get that lovely bumpy texture. Stipple it all over and drizzle it with some more olive oil. Not too much -- about 2-3 tablespoons should do it. If you have a nice coarse sea salt, like Maldon crystals, Celtic grey sea salt or Fleur de Sel de Guerande, it's very nice sprinkled on top. If you don't, no worries. Once it's all done, put it in the oven. It will probably bake fully in about 30 minutes. Rotate it after 20 minutes. If it's still pale after 30 minutes, keep it in the oven a little longer. It should be golden brown, looking almost as if it's lit from within. Err on the side of overbaking, rather than underbaking. You will be rewarded with a crust with a brilliant crunch, and a taste that is both sweet and deeply savory. Why, of course there will be a picture when it comes out of the oven. 
Saturday, August 06, 2005