I have a few tried-and-true recipes that I make on a regular basis: cookie brittle, compost cake, this piña colada zucchini bread. Time to add another regular bake to the list: chive and garlic focaccia.
I started making this bread back in the spring when the only plant growing in our garden was chives. I never considered myself much of a chive fan, but I decided to make use of the one fresh thing I had by tossing it in a bread dough. Now, I’m a big fan of chives, and I’ve made this bread probably ten times in the last four months.
This bread is super easy to make and doesn’t require any out of the ordinary ingredients. I bet you already have everything you need right in the pantry.
What You Need for Chive and Garlic Focaccia
As I said, you don’t need a lot to make this bread, and like many of my favorite recipes, you can make some pretty easy substitutions.
- 1⅓ cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Packet of yeast
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup olive oil + more to top
- 2 teaspoons sea salt + more flaky salt to top
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- Fistful of fresh chives, finely chopped
If you don’t care for chives or don’t have them, sub in another herb. Rosemary, oregano, basil or even dill would be great in this dough. If you don’t have fresh herbs, dried work! Just don’t go overboard—a tablespoon total is enough.
Full disclosure: I used the minced garlic you find in a jar. I add a heaping spoonful and call it good. I say it’s about four cloves worth.
Another substitution: You can use a heaping teaspoon of quick-rise yeast if you don’t have active dry yeast at home. This recipe is pretty forgiving, so don’t be worried if you need to make some small changes.
Step 1: Proof the Yeast
If you’re new to bread, using yeast is the most daunting part, but really don’t fret too much. Just fill up a measuring cup with warm water. I go by feel, but if you want to be precise, just be sure not to go over 110ºF. Any hotter and you’ll kill the yeast.
Stir in the sugar and yeast and let it sit for a few minutes until it begins to froth.
Step 2: Stir Up the Dough
This dough is so easy to put together. Just mix together the flour, water-sugar-yeast mix and olive oil with the dough hook of your stand mixer. Then add the salt, garlic and all the chives and mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and creeps up the hook.
Step 3: Knead and Rest
Next, turn out the dough onto a floured worktop and knead for five minutes. A lot of breads require a lot of kneading, but not this focaccia. You want it to be fairly tender, so there’s no reason to keep laboring over it to develop a ton of gluten. Five minutes of work is enough.
When you’re done kneading, pop the dough into a greased bowl and let it rise for an hour.
Step 4: Press into the Pan
After the dough has pretty much doubled in size, press it into a 13×9 sheet pan, cover and let it rise again. The second rise on this bread is pretty short: 20 minutes will do the trick.
Step 5: Add Dimples, Oil and Salt
This part is my favorite. Once the dough has puffed up a little bit, press dimples into the dough with your fingertips. You’ll want to press until you can feel the bottom of the pan (but don’t rip through the dough). Make little divots all over the bread.
Then take your extra virgin olive oil and drizzle oil into all of those dimples. Sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the top and toss this in the oven.
Toss in a 400ºF oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
When it’s cool enough to remove from the pan, take it out and enjoy! I love a slice or two while the bread is still warm. The dough is so soft and tender thanks to the short knead time and ample amounts of olive oil. I like when I find a salty slice—it gives it a nice little crunch on top!
How to Serve Focaccia and How to Store It
I think this is a pretty good focaccia recipe, so I eat this bread without adornment (and I eat it for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner). It’s just so good.
However, if you want to not live on bread alone, you can serve this focaccia up alongside a big salad or a tasty Italian dish. I like to make it with this skillet zucchini lasagna from Half Baked Harvest.
If the bread is a bit past it’s prime, I toast it up and cover it with butter and garlic powder for easy garlic bread. You could just toast it plain and use it for sandwiches, too.
As for the timeline on this bread, it’s definitely at it’s best the first day, but if you wrap it tightly, it’s good for about three. After three days, it starts to dry out. But that’s where the garlic bread and toast ideas come in!
Leave a Reply