A Focaccia Tutorial

My friend Sandi asked me if I could make my recipes more geared toward beginners, so I thought it would be fun to make a photo tutorial. The recipe is time-extensive, but the ingredients are few, no special equipment is required, and the process is straightforward. Above all, the final product is a versatile masterpiece. You may dip this soft, flavorful flat bread into marinara sauce, use it for a sandwich, or simply eat it by itself.



Poolish Focaccia
Source: The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart

Note: This recipe is a two-day process, but Day 1 only takes 30 minuets to make the poolish and the herb oil. Day 2 will take 6-7 hours mostly because of resting time. Don't worry, you can do it!

Ingredients:
For the herb oil:
* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 3 tbsp dried herbs or 1/2 c fresh
For the poolish:
* 2 1/2 c bread flour
* 1 1/2 c water, room temperature
* 1/4 tsp dry yeast
For the focaccia:
* Poolish (recipe above)
* 2 2/3 Cups bread flour
* 2 tsp salt
* 1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
* 6 Tbs olive oil
* 3/4 cup water, warm
* 1/2 cup herb oil (recipe above)

Directions:
Day 1:
* Heat the olive oil to about 100F and remove the oil from heat. Mix in the herbs and let it stand overnight at room temperature, covered. The dry herbs I used were: 1 tbsp rosemary, 1/2 tbsp basil, 1/2 tbsp oregano, and 1/2 tbsp thyme.



* To make the poolish, mix the flour, water, and yeast with a wooden spoon until all the flour is moistened. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand overnight at room temperature.



Day 2:
* The poolish should have doubled in volume and have lots of bubbles!



* To the poolish, add the rest of the flour, water, oil, and salt. Mix until the dough comes together and releases from the sides of the bowl, but not the bottom, about 5 min.



* Pour the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Dust the dough with flour so that it is not sticky, and pat it into a rectangle. Brush any flour off the dough as best as you can. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it stand for 5 minuets.



* Tri-fold the dough like a letter by folding the shorter edge toward the middle and doing the same with the other side. Cover with plastic and let it rest for 30 minuets.
* Stretch the dough out and repeat the tri-fold, but this time instead of folding left-right, fold up-down. Cover with plastic and let it rest again for 30 minuets.



* Do a third and final stretch and fold, and let it rest for 1 1/2 hours.



* In the meantime, line a 17x12 in. baking sheet with parchment paper.
* When the dough is ready, transfer the dough to the baking sheet. It's nice to have someone help you here! Drizzle half of the herb oil onto the dough and poke straight down into the dough with your fingers to spread the dough out into the pan. Pop the large bubbles if you like, but try to leave the small bubbles intact.



* Cover the dough and let it rise for 2 hours.



* Add the rest of the herb oil and poke the dough once more. Let the dough rest for 15 minuets.
* In the meantime, preheat the oven to 500F.
* When the dough is ready, put it in the oven and reduce the temperature to 450F. Bake for 20-25 minuets.



* Immediately take the focaccia out of the baking sheet and place it on a cooling rack for 20 min. Makes 12 servings.

Twenty-ten

If only I could make 2,010 of these. The chocolate cake recipe is ridiculously simple, and it yields the best I've ever had. Add only a kiss of confectioner's sugar to the matcha whipped cream, and muah! - the subtle green tea notes are absolutely perfect when paired with chocolate cake. Top the cake with a fluffy cloud of freshly whipped cream and a quick dust of matcha, and you're all set to start a new year!



Matcha and Chocolate Layer Cake
Source: Alicia (chocolate cake recipe) and me!

Ingredients:
For the cake:
* 1 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp flour
* 3/4 tsp baking soda
* 3/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1 egg
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 cup boiling water
For the cream:
* 1 cup chilled heavy cream, divided
* 1 tbsp + 1 tsp confectioner's sugar
* 1 tbsp matcha

Directions:
For the cake:
* Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a 9-in. round pan with parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides of the pan.
* In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add all wet ingredients except boiling water and mix well.
* Add boiling water and mix well. Batter will be thin.
* Pour into cake pans and bake 30-35 min, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
* Wait 10 min and invert the cake on a flat surface (cutting board or cookie sheet). Remove paper. Invert the cake on another surface so that it is right-side-up. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature.
For the whipped cream:
* With a chilled bowl and beaters, beat 3/4 cup heavy cream until slightly frothy. Add 1 tbsp sugar and matcha and beat until stiff peaks form. Do not over-beat. Keep chilled when finished. This will be for the cream filling.
* With a clean bowl and beaters, repeat with the remaining cream and sugar. This will be for the topping.
For assembly:
* Once the cake has cooled, level the cake by slicing off the top, if needed. Cut the cake into 3 equal layers with a long, serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion. It's easier than it sounds! Start at the edges, keeping an eye on the thickness of the cake, and turn the cake as you work the knife closer to the center.
* Use cookie or biscuit cutters to cut out rounds of cake.
* Place cake round on serving plate. Pipe the matcha whipped cream over the cake by outlining the outside and swirling inward. Place another cake round on top and pipe more matcha cream. Add another cake layer.
* Pipe plain whipped cream on top, and finish by using your fingers to sprinkle a pinch of matcha. The number of cakes this recipe yields depends on the size of your cutter.