Rosemary Olive Focaccia

Hi, Everyone! I hope you all had a fun weekend! For me, this weekend was a time to catch up on some things around the house, so it meant lots of cleaning, washing, ironing and cooking. I knew the only that would make the piles of laundry and ironing more pleasant was a Downton Abbey marathon, and it sure did! I went through almost the entire first season! The Dowager Countess kept me entertained! One fun thing that I did in the kitchen was bake this Rosemary Olive Focaccia! It was really good! I served it along with a great big salad, but it would also be really good with a bowl of some hearty soup!

ROSEMARY OLIVE FOCACCIA

(Adapted from Taste)

YOU WILL NEED:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 packet (2 1/4 tsp or 0.25 oz) dried yeast

2 tsp sugar

3 tbs olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tbs dried rosemary (or 1 1/2 tbs fresh rosemary)

Kalamata or black olives (about 20 of them), pitted

DIRECTIONS:

1. In your electric mixer bowl, combine yeast, sugar and warm water. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for about 5 minutes, until it's frothy. Then, begin adding flour, cup by cup, and half of the salt and all the rosemary, until a dough begins to form. (If the dough is still sticky, add more flour.)

2. Using the dough hook attachment on your electric mixer, knead the dough for 10 minutes, then form into a ball and place in a large greased bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

2. Once the 45 minutes is up, punch down the dough and knead it on a lightly floured surface for about a minute or two, until the dough is nice and elastic. Brush some olive oil onto your baking sheet, and form your dough into about a 9x13 inch rectangle. Cover it with a kitchen towel again and let rise for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 deg F.

3. After the 20 minutes, press holes into the dough using your finger, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle with the rest of the salt and press the olives into it. Bake for 10 - 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Once you take it out of the oven, brush it with a little bit of olive oil again (and sprinkle with some more salt if you like).

Serve the focaccia warm, with some soup or salad! I could seriously eat bread all day long (I wish it wasn't as full of carbs as it is!) and I love some homemade fresh bread with a meal! If you're looking for something new to serve as a side, try this Rosemary Olive Focaccia!

Have a great week, Everyone!

I will be linking to:

Mangia Mondays, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes,The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello, and Bubbly Nature Creations.