The knead to succeed

The first time I made focaccia, the dough did not rise at all. It sat bored and bewildered, a lazy blob in a mixing bowl atop the counter. I tossed it reluctantly into the compost bin outside.

Weeks earlier, my brother had brought an olive-and-onion focaccia to the house. He had gotten it at the store. Soft, fresh and flavorful, the bread had gone remarkably well with our supper: pasta with sausage and peppers. It had been splendid.

Inspired by its apparent simplicity and versatility, I decided to re-create that loaf in my kitchen. Though I am not a bread baker, I have learned to follow directions fairly efficiently. I like to believe I understood enough about cooking and ingredients that complemented one another to prove somewhat adept.

With a recipe culled from a few different sources, I set to work. Alas... I checked the date on the yeast packet; it had been almost a decade old, presumably when I last attempted bread.


The second time I made focaccia, with a new package of Fleischmann's, the dough rose only slightly. Had the water been warm enough? I wondered. Had it generated a sort of fizz when it hit the yeast? I was stumped.

I carried on nevertheless, ambitiously stretching the dough across a baking sheet before drizzling olive oil and scattering herbs. I dimpled the surface artistically with my fingers, pressing in handfuls of sliced olives and sautéed onions. Warm from the oven, the focaccia tasted fine, if not entirely fluffy.


According to Marcella Hazan, focaccia is most closely linked to Liguria, the Italian Riviera along the country's northwestern Mediterranean coast. In some towns, she notes in "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking," focaccia is known as "pizza Genoese, Genoese-style pizza."

Focaccia does resemble pizza in some ways. It can have a similar texture, and often incorporates familiar toppings such as basil, garlic and mushrooms. Fortunately, however, focaccia is seldom inundated with tomato sauce or drowned in melted cheese, making it easier to handle.

Ordering focaccia in Italian bakeries can be a tricky endeavor. In Bologna, "if you're looking for focaccia, the appropriate word to use is crescentina; in Florence, Rome, and a few other parts of central Italy, it is schiacciata," Hazan writes. "If you ask for focaccia in Bologna or Venice, you will be given a very sweet panettone-like cake, studded with candied fruit and raisins."

Focaccia can be eaten as a side to the main course, the way my brother and I approached our meal that night. It can be considered an appetizer, served warm perhaps with a lovely bowl of soup.

Thick loaves can also be cut horizontally for sandwiches and filled with coppa and provolone, prosciutto and slices of mozzarella, or a mix of grilled or roasted vegetables. Or it can be eaten the way it is served in Ligurian bakeries: hot from the oven, wrapped in paper and downed on the spot.


In "Lidia's Family Table," Lidia Bastianich delivers an intriguing fig focaccia. In "How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food," Mark Bittman's basic focaccia is essentially a pizza dough, with different ideas for toppings.

And in his latest, "The Modern Baker," Nick Malgieri gets creative. His focaccia recipes include combinations such as tomatoes, anchovies and dried breadcrumbs; sliced onions, anchovies, black olives and green olives; and prosciutto, mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano, for a ham-and-cheese-filled focaccia.


The third time I made focaccia, I added warm water to the yeast and watched it fizz. I proofed the dough in the hottest place in the house: an upstairs bedroom with strong afternoon sun, nowhere near the kitchen. The dough rose significantly and developed an elasticity with which I was satisfied. It stretched amicably and went into and out of the oven effortlessly.

Cut and plated nicely, the focaccia looked terrific, speckled with the contrasting colors of black olives, red onions and green herbs. Fluffier than the previous loaf, the bread felt soft and spongy; the toppings tasted savory and mildly sweet. I ate chunks of it meal after meal, until nary a crumb remained.

Why, I wondered, had focaccia even mattered? What was the big deal? So what if I messed up the first time, or the second. Why was it important to make bread when I could go to the store? Could I not have resisted the challenge? Maybe I was trying to impress my brother. More likely, however, I was trying to impress myself.

(The site www.culinate.com, where the photo is from, publishes a version of this food essay.)


Olive and Onion Focaccia

dough:

2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
3 1/2 to 4 cups flour
1 Tbsp. coarse salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

topping:

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 cups olives, pitted and sliced
1 tsp. dried herbs (rosemary, basil, thyme or oregano) or 2 tsp. chopped fresh herbs
salt
freshly ground black pepper

To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the dry yeast, warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve. Wait 3 to 5 minutes for the yeast to activate; it should fizz. Attach the dough hook. With the machine on low, gradually add the flour. Dissolve the salt in 2 Tbsp. of water. Add it to the mixture as well. Pour in the olive oil.

When the dough begins to form, increase the speed to medium. Periodically scrape the dough off the hook. Mix about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding a little flour if necessary.

Turn the dough out onto a board and fold it over itself a few times. Shape it into a ball. Put it into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let it rise in a warm spot in the house for about 45 minutes, until it has doubled in size.

To make the topping: In a medium-sized skillet over low to medium heat, caramelize the onions in olive oil.

To bake the focaccia: Lightly oil a baking sheet. When the dough is ready, turn it out. Roll and stretch it into the pan until the dough is about 1/2-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap again. Let it rest for 15 minutes more.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the dough and dimple it with your fingers. Brush it with a little more olive oil. Top the dough with the caramelized onions, olives, herbs, salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake on the bottom rack for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 1 sheet.

No foolin'

What I would do to eat at 10 Downing Street, where Jamie Oliver, among my favorite rock star chefs, and a crew from Fifteen London prepare dinner for politicians and world leaders the evening before the G-20 economic summit.



The menu:

Baked Scottish Salmon with Seashore Vegetables, Broad Beans, Herb Garden Salad, Mayonnaise and Wild Garlic-scented Irish Soda Bread

Slow-Roasted Shoulder of Welsh Lamb, very first of the season Jersey Royals, first of the season Asparagus and Wild St. George Mushrooms, Mint Sauce and Gravy

Hot Bakewell Tart with Homemade Custard

(The image is from www.jamieoliver.com.)

Vegetarian options include:

Childwickbury Goat's Cheese with Roast Shallots, Seashore Vegetables, Herb Green Salad and Wild Garlic-scented Irish Soda Bread

Lovage and Potato Dumplings with first of the season Asparagus and Wild St. George Mushrooms


I am going to have to figure out what lovage is exactly. The lamb, however, reminds me of a terrific recipe from "Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life":


Incredible Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Smashed Vegetables and Greens

for the lamb:

1 (2.2-lb.) shoulder of lamb
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh rosemary
1 bulb garlic, unpeeled, broken into cloves

for the smashed vegetables:

1 1/2 lbs. peeled potatoes, cut into large chunks
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/2 a large rutabaga, peeled and cut into small chunks
6 Tbsp. butter

for the sauce:

1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups good-quality hot chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp. capers, soaked, drained and chopped
1 large bunch fresh mint, leaves picked
2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 lb. lovely greens, such as white cabbage, savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts tops or cavolo nero, leaves separated, stalks finely sliced

for the lamb:

Preheat your oven to full whack (450 to 500 degrees F).

Slash the fat side of the lamb all over with a sharp knife. Lay half the sprigs of rosemary and half the garlic cloves on the bottom of a high-sided roasting pan, rub the lamb all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place it in the pan on top of the rosemary and garlic, and put the rest of the rosemary and garlic on top of the lamb. Tightly cover the tray with aluminum foil and place in the oven.

Turn the oven down immediately to 325 degrees F and cook for 4 hours - it's done if you can pull the meat apart easily with two forks.

for the vegetables:

When the lamb is nearly cooked, put the potatoes, carrots and rutabaga into a large pot of boiling salted water and boil hard for 20 minutes or so until you can slide a knife into the rutabaga easily.

Drain and allow to steam dry, then smash them up in the pan with most of the butter. If you prefer a smooth texture, add some cooking water. Spoon into a bowl, cover with foil and keep warm over a pan of simmering water.

for the sauce:

Remove the lamb from the oven and place it on a chopping board. Cover it with foil, then a kitchen towel, and leave it to rest.

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the greens.

Pour away most of the fat from the roasting pan, discarding any bits of rosemary. Put the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and mix in the flour. Add the stock, stirring and scraping all the sticky goodness off the bottom of the pan. You won't need gallons of gravy, just a couple of flavorsome spoonfuls for each serving.

Add the capers, turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes. Finely chop the mint and add it to the sauce with the red wine vinegar at the last minute then pour into a pitcher.

Add the greens and stalks to the pan of fast-boiling salted water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes to just soften them. Drain and toss with a knob of butter and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Place everything in the middle of the table, and shred the lamb in front of your guests. Absolutely delish! Makes 6 servings.