Only I would decide to add an unplanned appetizer to an unplanned dinner about 3 hours ahead of time. And of course I would choose something that requires time to rise. And of course it’d be something that I’ve never learned about in the past.

This past Saturday was the first time I saw my friends since finals week here on campus and I decided it’d be a great idea to celebrate with French Macarons, and a simple carbonara.

But of course, I couldn’t serve a pasta dish by itself. I wanted to make a flat bread for my guests to enjoy with their pasta. Given any other crowd, or any other day I would have went ahead and made my famous garlic bread. I had to break to norm. My crowd was one that was used to my wacky concoctions, sometimes more successful than others.

So I clicked through the internet, did the research, jotted down some notes, and I came up with this.

Focaccia is a type of Italian flat bread typically basted in olive oil and sprinkled lightly with salt. Occasionally this bread is seasoned with herbs such as rosemary and is great for sandwiches and just as a simple appetizer. I took a “easy” Focaccia recipe, and combined it with comments as well as techniques from other blogs.

Water is slowly added to flour until the dough is able to completely absorb the flour and form a dense dough. After rising briefly, the dough is turned out, flattened and baked at a high temperature until golden brown and delicious. My friends all reminisced the similarities of this crumb and a biscuit’s.

This focaccia is far from traditional. Whether it be technique or process this sped-up recipe is great as a last minute base to any dinner part or as a sandwich bread for lunch. As an combination of a few different recipes I’ve read, this hybrid resulted a delicious, tender, and moist crumb that is definitely something worth a try.

Fast Focaccia Recipe

adapted from Easiest Focaccia Recipe – Allrecipes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup warm water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and rosemary. Add the olive oil and combine.
3. Turn on the stand mixer (stir or 2 on a Kitchen Aid) and add in the water. When the water is worked into the dough, add additional water, 1 Tbsp at a time, waiting each time until the water is worked in. When the dough barely comes together, add 2 more Tbsp of water and knead the dough until it is smooth.
4. In a oiled bowl, let the dough rise until doubled, about 20 minutes. When the dough has risen, punch it down, knead briefly, and let it rest on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 5 minutes.
5. Spread or roll the dough into a rectangle, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. using your fingers create dimples on the surface. brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt as a finish.
6. Bake for 10 minutes for a softer bread or 20 until crisp.
7. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

As for the prompt question of the day –  a prank that I wish I could pull off? I hope that some day I’ll be able to pull off the water cup prank… who knows, maybe one of these days I will!