Focaccia Bread

Have you ever hug and kiss your kitchen appliances?  My kids laugh at me when they see me hugging and kissing my breadmaker.  It has done such a wonderful things in making bread, pizza dough, pasta and even jam for me.  It never let me down unless the recipe is a bad one.  Over the weekend, I made my first focaccia bread and pasta and that was a delicious "homemade" dinner.  Kids asked me what would I do if the breadmaker broke, I would certainly cry but luckily I have a spare.  When my husband bought me the Kenwood Chef, it gave me a new breadmaker as a bonus gift.  How nice is that!

Focaccia Bread (Breadmaker method)


Ingredients:
4 cups baker's flour (I use Defiance)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
8g instand dry yeast
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/4 lukewarm water
1 teaspoon mixed dried oregano and basil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic


Topping:

1. olive oil, salt, cheese, garlic, dried oregano and basil
2. olive oil, salt, garlic, cherry tomato, fresh rosemary 

Method:

1. Pour the liquid ingredients into the breadmaker: i.e. water and oil.
2. Then followed by the dry ingredients with the yeast last, i.e. salt, garlic, herb, flour and yeast.
3. Press the select button to "dough"
4. When the dough is done, take it onto the floured bench or place a piece of baking paper onto the bench.  Sprinkle the dough with some flour and roll it into rectangular shape that fitted into the baking tray or small round shape of your choice.  (I make one large rectangular and a small square)
5. Dimple the surface of the dough with your fingertips.  Leave the dough in a warm place for 15 minutes. ( I leave it in a pre-warmed oven)
6. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, herbs, garlic, cheese, halved tomatoes of your choice.
7. Bake at 210c for 15-20 minutes or until the bread is cooked through.  My dough is a bit thick, I actually bake it about 30 minutes.
8. You can cut the bread in half, butter it.  Put it under the grill for grilled toast or bruschetta bread.