Focaccia Bread with Rosemary and Sea Salt

Method

Tips

• Focaccia is rather popular in Italy and is as a rule seasoned with olive oil and sometimes herbs, and might be served with a topping of onion, cheese and meat, or flavored with a few vegetables. Then again, without a doubt the customary focaccia is plainly baked dough topped with olive oil and a simple herb like rosemary or sage, and salted with coarse salt. It is well-liked as a snack in Italy and school children will regularly buy a slice from a baker on the way to school, to enjoy at break time.
  Focaccia doughs are similar in style and texture to pizza doughs, made with high-gluten flour, oil, water, salt and yeast it is classically rolled out or pressed by hand into a thick layer of dough and then baked in a stone-bottom or hearth oven bakers habitually puncture the bread with a knife to relieve bubbling on the surface of the bread.
  Also common is the practice of dotting the bread this makes several wells in the bread by using a finger or the handle of a wooden spoon to poke the unbaked dough as a way to keep moisture in the bread, olive oil is then spread over the dough, by hand or with a pastry brush before rising and baking.
  In the northern part of Italy, lard will sometimes be added to the dough, giving the focaccia a softer, slightly flakier taste, focaccia recipes are extensively accessible, and with the rising popularity of bread machines, several cookbooks now offer many versions of dough recipes that do not require hand kneading.