Onion-Rosemary Focaccia

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but...

I didn't realize today was Fat Tuesday.

Soooo, yeah. While I scrounge around my kitchen to see if I have the fixings for some deliciously sinful and thoroughly fattening dessert to make with my boys this afternoon, I'll leave to you with another way to use up all that fabulous bulk pizza dough.

Onion-Rosemary Focaccia
Recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
Prep time: 30 minutes   Bake Time: 30 minutes

1/4 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tsp for drizzling
1 lb (about grapefruit-sized) Olive Oil Dough, or another preferred bread dough.
3/4 tsp dried rosemary, OR 1 1/2 tsp fresh
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat a small skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion slices in 2 tbsp of EVOO until softened, but not browned. Set aside.

Don't fully cook these here or you'll have extra burnt onions on your focaccia.

2. Prepare a cookie sheet either with parchment paper, nonstick spray, or some EVOO so the bread won't stick. Set aside.

3. If working with a large container of dough, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1lb piece. Dust with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go.

There are two pounds of dough left in my tub. Half of this...

...makes one cute little ball!

4. Flatten the dough into a 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick round, using your hands. Place the round on the prepared cookie sheet, and poke the surface with your fingers, creating dimples.

Those are adorable little two-year-old dimples on this dough.
Kieran will eat this dough raw if I don't watch him too.

5. Spread the softened onions sparingly over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1 inch border at the edge. Allow the majority of the dough to show through the onion as bare dough (you may have leftover onion; that's ok!). Sprinkle with rosemary, coarse salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Finish with a light drizzle of EVOO.

Sprinkle on your fixings! But don't go nuts: less is more.

6. Allow the focaccia to rest and rise for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425, with an empty broiler tray on the bottom rack, while the dough rests.

7. Place the cookie sheet on a rack placed in the center of the oven. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and close the door quickly. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the crust is medium brown. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

Golden. Beautiful. Wondrous.

I love this bread. My Picky Eater loves this bread (with the onions picked off). My two year-old loves to help me make this bread. It's that awesome, and that easy! The secret to it's fabulous-ness is the pre-made dough. And honestly, it doesn't matter to me if you use the dough recipe that I like, or you pick something up from your grocer's freezer. Whatever you like to use is totally fine! I love how adding a few savory toppings totally takes this from plain ol' dough to a bread worthy of any fantastic Italian dish. Or as an appetizer, with cheese and fresh fruit, at a cocktail party!

You could even take leftover wedges and crumble a little goat cheese on top to munch on while watching that movie you've been dying to see after the kiddos go to bed. ;) Oh the possibilities...

Pizza Dough (in bulk)

My bread machine broke.

Ok, to be fair, the actual machine didn't break, but the pan that mixes and bakes all that yeasty goodness broke.  And because this was a wedding shower gift about a decade ago, I'm having problems finding replacement parts for it.

I have, however, had a much easier time finding a replacement pizza dough recipe.  Much as I love the beer dough I've been making the last few years, this one is just plain AWESOME.  It's simple.  It's easy.  And it makes a LOT.

And when you're feeding three hungry males the same meal every single week, a recipe that makes a ton is always appreciated.

Pizza Dough (a.k.a. Olive Oil Dough)
Recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
Prep time: 5 minutes   Rise time: 2 hours   Bake time (for pizza): 15-18 minutes

2 3/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt (Or any other course salt.  If you want to use table salt, you'll need to decrease this by a quarter)
1 tbsp sugar
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1.  Mix the water, EVOO, yeast, salt, and sugar in a 5-quart container.

The yeast and EVOO do battle over who is the most fragrant.

2.  Mix in the flour, without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with dough hook).

Lots of flour.

Lots of dough.

3.  Cover (NOT airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

Cover. Walk away. Come back and make pizza.

4.  The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold.  Refrigerate in a lidded (NOT airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.

5.  To make a pizza, sprinkle the surface of the dough with a little flour and, using a serrated knife, cut of 1/4 of the dough.  Just like with the Artisan Bread, stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball as you go.  Place on a floured surface, dust the ball with more flour and, using your hands or a floured rolling pin, flatten to your desired pizza shape and thickness.

From here it's pretty straightforward.  Decorate your pizza with whatever toppings you like.  I like to bake mine on a pizza stone in a 425 F oven.  My boys share a smaller, cheese pizza, which I do for about 15 minutes.  Rob and I usually share a larger, thinner, pepperoni pizza which takes 18-20 minutes.

Another thing I like about this dough is it's versatility.  Sure I mainly use it for pizza, but it can also be used for focaccia.  I'll have to save the Caramelized Onion & Rosemary Focaccia for another post though. ;)