Truly, a sandwich of the gods.
Things I discovered with this foccacia recipe:
* No, that second set of slightly-less-whisky whisks that came with my mixer are not, in fact, a dough hook despite all fantasies to the contrary
* 1 cup is not ½ cup water, except in the non-Euclidean Lovecraftian geometry sense
* Sometimes yeast breads can still work out even when you’re totally making shit up
WARNING: Travel back in time and prepare the pre-ferment. Seriously. Otherwise, check out these sites for same-day foccacia recipes:
Eating Club Vancouver’s Foccacia
A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen’s Cornmeal Foccacia
Whole Wheat Foccacia
Adapted hastily and with moderate swearing from King Arthur Flour’s Whole Grain Baking.
Ingredients:
Pre-ferment:
1 cup (4 oz) whole wheat flour
1 cup (8 oz) water from the tap, heated for 20 seconds in the microwave to barely lukewarm
½ tsp white sugar
¼ tsp active dry yeast
Dough:
All of the pre-ferment
1 ¼ cups (10 oz) water, heated for 30 seconds in the microwave
1 ¼ cups (5 z) whole wheat flour
1 7/8 cups (8 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
¾ tsp active dry yeast
½ tsp white sugar
Additional flour for dusting
Extra-virgin olive oil
Topping:
1 onion, thinly sliced into rings
1 Tbs chopped fresh or dry rosemary
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. To prepare the pre-ferment: The night before, proof the yeast by dissolving the sugar in the barely warm water, and sprinkling the yeast on top. Let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature until slightly foamy, then mix well with the cup of flour in a deep bowl. Cover the top of the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 16 – 18 hours.
2. The next day, proof the additional yeast by dissolving the sugar in the water, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes until slightly foamy.
3. Add the fresh yeast mixture to the pre-ferment, then add the whole wheat and all-purpose flours and salt. Mix vigorously by hand or with an electric mixer for 3 minutes to form a wet, slack, stretchy dough.
4. Cover tightly with the plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.
5. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Flour your hands, and fold it gently into thirds in on itself, like a business letter. Fold it again into thirds perpendicular to the original folding direction. Return to the bowl, fold side down, and cover again for 30 minutes.
6. Repeat the folding and let rise for 15 minutes.
7. Repeat the folding and press the dough into a lightly oiled 10x12” pan. Cover loosely and let it rise for 45 minutes at room temperature.
8. Slice the onion, and if making the foccacia sandwiches (recipe below), slice a large bell pepper into long thing strips. Toss the onion and bell pepper slices with just enough olive oil and spread out without touching on a baking pan. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F, and put the onion and bell peppers into the oven to roast for 15 minutes until it’s up to heat.
9. When the foccacia has finished rising, lightly flour your finger tips and gently dimple the surface of the foccacia. Lay the onion slices on top and sprinkle the rosemary across them. Drizzle the olive oil on top, letting some of it pool in the dimples.
10. Bake until it is a lovely gold color, approximately 18 minutes.
11. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
Pesto adapted from Jack Bishop’s The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook.
Ingredients:
2 cups basil leaves, roughly torn
1 cup grated parmesan
3 Tbs pine nuts
2 cloves garlic, roasted lightly in their skins and minced
½ tsp kosher salt
4 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. In a food processor (I recommend the Magic Bullet, for maximum processor-that’s-named-like-a-sex-toy value), give the garlic and salt a whirl until well minced and mixed. Add the pine nuts and process until roughly chopped.
2. Add the basil leaves a quarter cup at a time until processed into a fine, wet paste.
3. Scrape the leaves out into a bowl and mix with the grated parmesan and olive oil. Taste and adjust the level of salt and oil as needed. To store the extra pesto, keep it in a closed Tupperware container in the fridge and pour a light layer of oil on the top of it.
Ingredients:
1 foccacia recipe, cut into sandwich-sized sections
Roasted bell peppers
1 medium tomato, sliced
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 pesto recipe
Directions:
1. Slice a sandwich-sized rectangle of the foccacia into half. Layer the mozzarella slices on one of the open faces and toast briefly in a toaster oven or regular oven until the cheese has softened.
2. Spread the pesto evenly on the other half.
3. Press the tomato slices into the pesto and layer the roasted bell pepper slices on top. Add the other piece with the melted mozzarella. Ta-da! A 24-hour SANDWICH.
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