Meyer Lemon Focaccia
Don't be put off by the amount of time this recipe appears to take. Most of it is actually spent just waiting for the bread dough to rest and develop flavor. Not crazy about a lemon topping? Replace it with whatever you want - we can recommend marinated tomatoes and kalamari olives! Photo by James Ransom at Food52
Adapted from Food52
| Yield: 2 focaccia | Time: over 1 day |
Preparation
Combine the water and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for a minute or two to let the yeast bloom. Once the yeast looks bubbly add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 tablespoons oil as well as all the flour. Mix with a spoon until fully blended and slightly shaggy. Grease another bowl or container with a bit of oil and transfer the dough into the bowl. Let rest for 10 minutes.
After the dough has rested, you can begin folding the dough. To do this with wet hands pull one edge of the dough up to stretch it then fold it into the middle of the dough. Repeat this 3 more times around the edge of the dough ball. Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes and then repeat this folding process two more times, resting in between. After the final fold is done refrigerate the dough overnight or up to 2 days.
About 2 hours before you would like to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile line two baking sheets with parchment paper and brush with olive oil.
Divide dough into 2 balls and place on prepared sheets. Gently push dough into 9 inch circles and allow to rise for 30-45 minutes. At this point, preheat your oven to 500F.
When the dough has risen scatter lemon slices and rosemary evenly on both doughs. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons salt. Place trays in oven, reduce temperature to 450 and bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon coarse salt, divided
3 tablespoons sugar, divided
¼ cup olive oil
2 ¼ cups flour
1 large Meyer lemon, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary