Paisano: Grape & Rosemary Focaccia

Slap Your Momma Good



I first made this focaccia for A Year in Bread (the recipe is adapted from one by Daniel Leader in Local Breads) and to my surprise fell completely in love with it. As a friend of mine commented: "It's so good it'd make you slap your momma." I liked it so much I started looking for occasions to make it for clients and family to share the joy.

The first opportunity was a picnic I catered for a real estate agent at a new resort. The resort was intended for people who owned horses and the lots were about 25 acres each. I served lunch at an open pagoda above a lake – hoity-toity to say the least. As expected there were leftovers, sadly there was no leftover focaccia.

As expected there were leftovers, sadly there was no leftover focaccia.

Since that time I’ve made it for other clients and for family events – always to raves. It’s one of those odd flavor combinations bringing together bread, fresh rosemary, ripe grapes, and sea salt in a union that is far better tasting than the sum of its parts. The bread is delightfully sweet, moist, and chewy. The rosemary is a perfect flavor pairing with the sweet grapes (an added burst of sweetness), and the coarse salt provides both textural and flavor contrast.

Grape & Rosemary Focaccia

1 c tepid water
1 tsp instant yeast
3 1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 c extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
Topping:
1 1/2 c red seedless grapes
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp coarse sea salt
additional olive oil

Pour water into the bowl of a stand mixer bowl and add yeast, olive oil, salt, and 3 cups of flour. Mix the ingredients on low (2 on a KA) using the paddle attachment on a Kitchen Aid until shaggy, then swap to the dough hook. Add additional flour as needed until a dough forms. Increase speed to medium (4 on a KA) and knead for 9 to 10 minutes.

Scrape dough out onto a lightly-floured board and shape into a ball. Note: I always knead the dough a bit by hand at the end to make sure it feels right. In this case the dough is moist, but not sticky (the oil accounts for this).

For this amount of dough, I typically use the mixer bowl for the fermentation phase. I wash it out and dry it, then lightly spray it with oil, shape the dough into a ball, lightly spray the top with oil, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until doubled in bulk.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and brush lightly with olive oil. Scrape dough out onto baking sheet and let rest for 5 minutes. Oil your hands and then stretch the dough out on the baking sheet, if it resists, allow to rest for another five minutes and continue. The dough should end up about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) and form a rough rectangle about 12 inches by 16 inches.

Using the balls of your fingers, press indentations into the dough, then drizzle a bit of olive oil on the top and, using your fingers, coat the top with oil. Press the grapes into the surface about 1 1/2 inches apart. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and chopped rosemary. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double the height (45 minutes to an hour).

At this point I also began heating my oven to 375F (190C) and positioned a rack in the center.

Bake focaccia for 20 to 30 minutes, but do take your own oven into account. My oven tends to cook slowly for some reason (and yes, I have verified the temperature with a thermometer) and I baked the bread for 40 minutes until it was a golden brown and the grapes had shriveled slightly.

Cool for about 5 minutes on a rack, then dive in.

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