Garlic Rosemary Focaccia

Squares of rosemary infused heaven!

If it isn't already apparent, I really love bread. The impetus to hone my baking skills sprang from a desire to teach myself to make delicious bread, everything would be a bonus! Last year I had some great success with the very easy Blitz-Bread/No-Fuss Focaccia recipe. A very simple, beginners recipe to make a fluffy seasoned bread that somewhat resembled focaccia. With some recent baking success to encourage me I decided it was time to tackle the real thing. Using our often drooled over and much loved Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe cookbook I set out to make my own pan of the amazing, flavorful and pillowy bread that I love so much from the countless sandwich's I've devoured at Chang's Flour Bakery. My first attempt was not the delicious golden brown perfectly seasoned squares of fluffy goodness you see above, no the first result was a bit more... well done. The initial attempt at making the bread ended with my having over-baked the bread due to the oven running hotter then I anticipated. 

Don't you just want to reach into the screen and eat some?

Despite the first attempt yielding a big square of overcooked, slightly darkened bread  that wasn't exactly soft, Gail and I managed to devour the focaccia cracker in a few short days. The recipe had all the potential in the world, I just had to try again, and keep the fickle oven in the front of my mind. 

My second attempt yielded a perfect pan of fluffy, garlic infused rosemary focaccia that would be awesome for soaking up an infused oil, great for sandwiches  and the potential base for a really fantastic pizza dough! I followed the recipe in the book as directed with only two minor adjustments: mincing two garlic cloves to sprinkle on top of the bread and sticking to the lower end of the cooking time to ensure that the bread was not overdone. Gail and I agreed the second attempt was a rousing success, and this is definitely the focaccia recipe I will be using from here on in, if I have the 3.5 - 5 hours required to produce such a delightful outcome. 

So far I've really enjoyed this cookbook! Gail has had great success with the homemade oreo's, and I loved the rosemary shortbread. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the recipes within, until I feel confident enough in my baking skills to tackle Flour's legendary sticky buns!

(submitted to Yeastspotting, which will be hosted next week by Hefe und mehr)