Today is Sourdough Day, and guess who has two thumbs and juuuust made a focaccia this morning!
Yup, this girl! I totally have a valid excuse, though. See when we took our epic 2 week vacation back home, I brought my starter, Felix, with me. Yup, I actually packed that starter up in a cooler and drove it 800 miles to my parents house. We made sourdough popovers, biscuits, crescent rolls, all kinds of yummy things. But when it was time to leave and I was starting to not feel well, poor Felix got left in the fridge. Don’t worry, though, my Dad is thoroughly enjoying babysitting him.
So I was kind of dreading making a starter from scratch (remember, Felix was a gift to me over three years ago!) when my dear lovely friend Shelley came to my rescue and mailed me some of hers! Now they are starters are siblings!! How cute is that?! Haha But I juuust got the starter Saturday afternoon and have been refreshing it until now.
This is probably one of my new favorite breads I have made. It is relatively simple, and so delicious!! I can’t stop snacking on it, and I think it is going to go perfectly with our spaghetti and meatballs tonight!
This simple focaccia is the perfect recipe to serve with dinner! An easy sourdough bread recipe your family will love.
Ingredients
Focaccia
- 1 cup starter (fed and bubbly)
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tsp sea salt
Topping:
- 1 1/2 cups sliced cherry tomatoes
- 2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
- 1 TBSP coarse sea salt
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the starter, warm water, olive oil, flour and sea salt.
- Switch to a dough hook and knead until it becomes a smooth pliable ball of dough.
- Grease a large mixing bowl, place the dough in it, cover, and allow to proof for 4 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 475F.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle about 3/4" thick.
- Use your fingers to indent the surface of the dough.
- Brush the dough surface with the olive oil.
- Toss the tomato slices, chopped basil, sea salt and pepper.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the bread is browned and crusty.
- Allow to cool to room temperature, cut into squares and serve with olive oil for dipping.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 323Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1458mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 7g
(only very slightly adapted from Nourished Kitchen)
pizzarossa
Thursday 23rd of January 2014
Jenni, that is just beautiful. So what's Felix' little brother's name?
jennifer
Friday 24th of January 2014
I haven't decided yet!
korena007
Wednesday 22nd of January 2014
Oh my gosh, how did Shelley mail the starter?? That is awesome :) And it made some beautiful looking focaccia.
jennifer
Friday 24th of January 2014
She fed it, stuck it in a container, in a box, and mailed it! LOL It works best in winter when it is cold out, and 2 day shipping (or less) is best. Worked just fine!
Rachel Hammer
Wednesday 22nd of January 2014
Gorgeous and classic. I love that your starter is named Felix. Mine's Flo.
Jane
Wednesday 22nd of January 2014
To me, those slivers of basil just add that final brush stroke to a lovely painting. Your focaccia really catches the eye!
Rebecca - Bakenquilt.com
Tuesday 21st of January 2014
So pretty! At least your starter is in a good home. Maybe you'll be able to marry your new starter with Felix at some point. :)