Onion, Rosemary and Cheese Focaccia

As you might have noticed from my previous recipe, I totally love my new oven and stand mixer. I couldn’t wait to try making my own bread. The result is this beautiful golden focaccia. I used Levine’s recipe (in Dutch) for the dough and used a topping instead of a stuffing.

Cheese and onion is one of my favorite combinations, but you could use a variety of toppings or stuffing. Use this dough as a base for your own delicious focaccia.

Ingredients:

500 gr flour

7 gr dried yeast (1 package)

320 gr water, lukewarm

10 gr salt

1-2 onions

50 gr grated mature cheese

1 1/2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Olive oil

The Dough

Using a stand mixer or powerful hand mixer with dough hooks. Mix the flour, yeast and water together with a wooden spoon, then use the dough hooks to mix into a supple dough for about 15 minutes. Add the salt after 5 minutes. The dough is slightly sticky because of the high moisture content. Add a little flour if the dough is too wet or a little water if it’s too dry.

Grease a bowl with a bit of oil and turn the dough around in the bowl so it has a layer of oil. Cover the bowl and proof to doubled in size for about an hour at room temperature.

In the meantime you can prepare the topping. Slice the onion and fry in a bit of oil or butter until golden. Don’t let it brown too far, because they’ll be cooked more in the oven. Grate the cheese and chopped the rosemary needles into smaller pieces.

Lightly grease your work surface with a bit of oil and turn the dough out. Press the air out of the dough and shape into a ball. Cover and leave for 20 minutes. Cover a baking sheet with baking parchment and transfer the dough onto it. Roll or flatten the dough into a rectangle, roughly A4/US letter size.

Grease a piece of plastic wrap and cover the dough. Proof for 30-45 minutes and preheat the oven at 460°F/240°C.

Use your fingers to press dimples into the dough. Sprinkle with rosemary, cheese and caramelized onion. Drizzle with olive oil. I use about 2 to 3 tablespoons.

Baking

Bake the focaccia for 15-20 minutes in the middle of the oven until golden brown. Leave to cool on a rack for 15 minutes.

Pillowy soft bread with an awesome cheese and onion topping.

You could stuff or top a focaccia with just about anything. Make sure your ingredients aren’t too wet, or your bread might turn out soggy.