What are you baking the week of July 28, 2019?

[Mike Nolan]

Here's the week's baking thread.

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[Italiancook]

OK, I ventured into focaccia-land again today. KAF blitz no-fuss focaccia, for the second time. Sceptic7, I found the Norpro pastry rollers extremely helpful in making the dough reach all the edges. I didn't try flattening the dough, leaving it for 15 minutes, then flattening it again to rise. I decided to stick with KAF's directions, since it was only my second time. Thanks for telling me about the Norpro rollers!

BakerAunt, I found your comment about what speed to use on the stand mixer helpful. I could see the difference in the dough using speed 5 over whatever I used the first time. I also didn't put in a zillion dimples this time.

Yet, I still didn't end up with focaccia I could slice in the middle for sandwiches. It's 1" high all the way around. So I have a question about HOW you dimple the dough, if you remember. When you put your finger in the dough, do you touch the bottom of the pan, or just dimple it slightly?

I touched the bottom of the pan, and with each finger poke, the dough deflated more. It came up some in the baking, but it didn't reach the height of the dough before I poked it. If I had never poked it, I think it would have baked high enough to slice in the middle for sandwiches. But the dimples are focaccia's signature.

It's cooling now. Will slice it for the freezer soon, keeping some out for dinner asparagus soup.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Italiancook.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--I don't poke all the way down to the bottom. I just do a gentle poke all around. You want to make a slight indentation. I hope that helps.

[Italiancook]

Ah ha! That's where I'm going wrong. The reason I poked all the way to the bottom is that I watched Anne Burrel (Food Network) make focaccia. It sure look like she was making a zillion pokes, going all the way to the bottom. I've never tried her recipe, because it requires a jelly pan, which I don't have and don't want to buy. Next time I make this bread, I'll use your method of just making "a slight indentation." I think that's the key to solving my dilemma. I cut the bread, and it tastes delicious. Thanks for your help, BakerAunt, in bearing with me through these two trys.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Italiancook.

[Mike Nolan]

When I've made it, the dough was usually about an inch thick and I poked about half an inch down.

[RiversideLen]

In spite of the heat, I made a batch of my sandwich buns.

[Italiancook]

Mike, when I tried focaccia from a Frugal Gourmet recipe, the dough was properly made and the finished product was thin. We had never before eaten focaccia, so we didn't know what it looks like. Still haven't had focaccia someone else prepared. I've seen Bobby Flay & Anne Burrell make it on Food Network, and their finished product looks somewhat thin.

The picture in the KAF recipe (link below) makes it look thick, and that has been BakeAunt's experience with it. She's able to slice it in the middle for sandwiches. So I don't know whose focaccia is more authentic -- Flays, Frugal Gourmet, and Burrell, or KAF. I also don't know if focaccia is even authentic Italian or U.S.-borne Italian-America. I have 3 excellent Italian cookbooks written by Italians in English, and none of them mention focaccia.

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/blitz-bread-no-fuss-focaccia-recipe

[BakerAunt]

King Arthur has a blog link to the right of the recipe on their site. It also shows a thicker bread. P.J. says to "dimple" the bread, and what is shown seems to be the light indentation.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm making a batch of bagels today.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, BakerAunt, for noticing the blog post for the focaccia recipe. I just read it and some of the reviews. Some reviewers put add-ins into the dough (not the ones suggested in the recipe). Have you ever tried this? Next time, I'll plan to make this for use with Italian deli meat & add some grated garlic.

[BakerAunt]

Another thought, Italian Cook, would be not to let the dough rise as long before dimpling it. That would give the dough a bit of time to recover from the dimpling.

When I make it, I use the optional Vermont cheese powder. I also sub in 1 1/2 cup whole wheat or white whole wheat flour and add 2 Tbs. flax meal. I cut the salt to 1 tsp., which will also give the yeast more freedom and allow for a quicker rise.

I've not used the optional pizza dough flavor (don't have and don't want it), nor have I tried adding meat or cheese. I'll be following your experiments with interest!

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by BakerAunt.

[Italiancook]

According to Wikipedia, focaccia is authenically Italian. Now, I wonder why it's not in any of my cookbooks.

BakerAunt, I like the idea of dimpling the dough sooner. As I recall from the show, that's what Anne Burrell did. She dug her fingers into the dough as she stretched it into the pan, thereby dimpling it.

[Mike Nolan]

According to Carol Field in The Italian Baker, focaccia may have been made before the founding of the Roman Empire, when the Etruscans settled northern Italy. And pizza dates back nearly 2000 years, but of course it wasn't made with tomato sauce until much later.

Tomatoes appear to have originated in the Americas and were apparently brought to Europe in the 16th century as ornamental plants. As they're a member of the nightshade family they were once thought to be poisonous. Potatoes are also a member of the nightshade family, as are peppers and eggplants.

[Mike Nolan]

I made Vienna bread tonight and plan to make popovers for lunch tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday evening, I baked the KAF recipe for whole wheat blueberry muffins. I made the following changes: added 2 Tbs. flax meal; added 1/3 cup powdered milk (the granular stuff I’m trying to use up); reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup; reduced the oil to ¼ cup; reduced the salt to 3/4 tsp. I had some leftover streusel in the refrigerator (not sure how old it was) that I sprinkled on top. The muffins are ok, but I will use a different streusel recipe next time. These made for a quick breakfast before we went blueberry picking again. These are the late blueberries, so they are not as full of water as the ones we picked in July. I will freeze most of these.

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