Rosemary and Pine Nut Focaccia: BBD#31

This month marks the 3rd Anniversary of Bread Baking Day.  Zorra, the creator of BBD, chose the theme Bread with Nuts for this special occasion. 

I chose Rosemary Focaccia with Pine Nuts for BBD#31.  The rosemary aroma is heavenly and the toasted pine nuts give this focaccia an exceptional flavor.  This recipe utilizes a wash made with egg yolk, olive oil and water which gives the bread a beautiful crisp golden brown crust and a delicious crumb on the inside.

Rosemary and Pine Nut Focaccia

Recipe adapted from the Rosemary Focaccia in Cooking Light's 2006 Annual Recipes Cook Book. 

The rosemary steeps in boiling water so be sure to let the mixture cool to 100 to 110 degrees before adding the yeast.  Otherwise you might kill the yeast.

I used fresh rosemary from my garden. It's really nice to be able to go and pick it whenever I need it.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided into teaspoons
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (I used bread flour)
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided into tablespoons
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon seat salt or kosher salt
  

Directions:

Combine boiling water, 1 teaspoon rosemary, and honey in a large bowl, cool to 100 to 110 degrees.

Sprinkle yeast over the honey mixture; let stand 5 minutes.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife.  Add 3 1/4 cups flour, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1 teaspoon salt to honey mixture, stirring to form a soft dough.

I mixed the dry ingredients together.

Then I added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients rather than the other way around.

This dough was really easy to mix.  You don't need a mixer.  I used my Danish dough whisk but a wooden spoon would probably work just fine.

 

Turn dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hand (dough will feel sticky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Gently press two fingers into dough.  If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.

Punch dough down.

Pat dough into a 14 x 12-inch rectangle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Cover and let rise 20 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Uncover dough. Make indentations in top of dough using handle of a wooden spoon or your fingertips.

Combine 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon water and egg yolk, brush over dough. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil, sprinkle with 8 teaspoons rosemary and sea salt. I also added pine nuts to give it a nuttier flavor and texture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until lightly-browned.

Remove from pan, cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy this Rosemary and Pine Nut Focaccia warm just as it is or with some marinara or a little extra olive oil. It really doesn't need anything else.  I made a meal out of it.

Thanks for visiting The Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog. I hope you enjoyed your visit and will join me again next time.

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Be sure to check out all of the fabulous breads in the BBD #31 Roundup.