Best Breakfast Focaccia With Grapes And Figs Recipes

THE BEST FOCACCIA

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook on low speed, stir in the warm water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, mixing until the flour is completely moistened. Let stand 5 minutes.
• Add the salt and knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. (The dough will tighten up, then begin to relax. After 5 minutes it will be very wet and stick to the bottom of the mixer but not the sides.)
• Rub 2 tablespoons olive oil around the bottom and sides of a large mixing bowl (big enough to hold at least double the volume of the dough). Using a scraper or spatula, transfer the dough to the bowl, flipping once to coat completely with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Pour the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil into the bottom of an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Use your hands to evenly distribute the oil along the bottom and up the sides. Scrape the dough into the baking sheet, flattening it slightly with your hands. Flip the dough once and gently stretch it to fit into an even layer in the baking sheet. (The dough may not stretch to the edges at this point. If it starts to pull back, let rest 10 minutes and re-stretch, making sure to pull from the center as well as the edges to get an even thickness.) Use your fingertips to make dimples over the surface of the focaccia, pressing firmly but not so hard you make holes in the dough.
• For the brine and finish: Dissolve the kosher salt in 1/3 cup warm water. Drizzle over the surface of the focaccia, letting it pool in the dimples. Cover loosely with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let sit in a warm place for 45 minutes to relax and rise again.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through, until the focaccia is deep golden brown on the top and bottom, 30 to 35 minutes. Drizzle with the olive oil and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to remove the focaccia to a wire rack to cool completely.

GRAPE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In a small skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Stir in 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool.
• Place 3/4 cup (177 grams) lukewarm water (105 to 115 degrees) in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over it. Let it stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the olive oil mixture, 1 2/3 cups flour, cornmeal, 3 tablespoons (54 grams) sugar, and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir until a soft dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, or knead in a stand mixer with a dough hook attached, for about 5 minutes. If using the stand mixer, finish the dough by hand, on a floured surface, for 1 minute. Add more flour; it could need as much as another 1/4 cup (31 grams) if the dough feels very sticky (you want damp but not unworkable dough).
• Oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat it lightly with the oil. Cover the bowl with a dish towel. Place the bowl in a warm place, and let it rise until the dough has doubled, about 1 hour.
• Halve the grapes if they are large. If using Concord, pit them.
• Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large cookie sheet or baking pan (11-inch by 17-inch) with some olive oil.
• Punch down the dough, then pat it into the pan, stretching into an oval about 3/8- to 1/2-inch thick - it should not fill the entire pan. Dimple the dough with your fingertips. Scatter the grapes and pine nuts, if using, over the dough, pressing them in lightly. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons (36 grams) sugar, 1 teaspoon rosemary, and flaky sea salt over the grapes. Drizzle all over with plenty of oil. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

FIG FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Put the yeast in the large mixing bowl of the mixer and pour 1/4 cup of the warm water over it. Because this is quite a wet dough, it is easier to knead in a standing mixer, but if you do not have one just use a big bowl and mix by hand. Let the yeast stand a few minutes to dissolve, then smear it around with your finger to make sure it is softened. Mix the salt with the rest of the water, and pour it into the bowl along with 2 1/2 cups of the flour. Attach the dough hook, and let it knead the dough for about 2 minutes, adding just a little more flour if it seems very wet (or knead with a light touch by hand for 2 to 3 minutes).
• Lightly flour your work surface, and scrape the dough out of the bowl onto it. Turn the dough over on itself several times, using a dough scraper and your floured hands; don't try to knead vigorously, because the dough is too wet and sticky.
• Clean out the mixing bowl and oil it lightly. Dump the dough in, and turn it to grease all over. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and leave the dough to rise until it has more than doubled in volume-about 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
• Select eight plump figs of uniform size, and save them for the topping. Chop the rest roughly into about six pieces per fig, and mix them in with the risen dough, deflating it and distributing them evenly.
• Generously sprinkle cornmeal over an 8-by-12-inch area of the baking sheet. Turn the dough out onto the cornmeal, and smear the remaining oil over the top, spreading it around with your fingers. Now pat and stretch the dough out into an oval shape approximately 8 inches wide and 11 to 12 inches long. Cut the reserved figs in half, stem to bottom, and arrange them at even intervals on top of the dough, cut side up, pressing them in slightly. Sprinkle the sugar all over the top.
• Preheat the oven to 425°. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes while the oven heats, then bake it for 25 minutes. Remove the bread to a rack. It should settle and cool for at least 10 minutes; then serve it warm. It can, of course, be reheated.
• When I bake at home, I don't hesitate to move things around the oven. It's a large professional oven with spots of quite variable heat, and, perhaps because of the massive griddle that sits on top, it retains heat long after the thermostat is lowered. Even if the dial is at 300°, my oven's top heat continues to brown foods like a broiler. These idiosyncrasies are a blessing in a way, because they demand that I pay attention to what is happening in the oven, and they've taught me how to move my dishes up and down on the racks and from the front to the back, to cover and uncover them as needed: to do whatever I need to do to get the dish that I want.
• I have incorporated these practices into many of my recipes, because using your whole oven to control the rates of cooking and browning will help you deal with the peculiarities of your own oven. And, of course, oven thermostats vary so much, just setting the dial for the same temperature does not ensure the same heat.
• The bread-pudding recipe on page 372 is a good example of how you can use the heat zones in your oven-and your racks-to your advantage. In the first step, you set both the heat and the pan of bread high up, so the top heat will quickly caramelize the bread without drying it out. But you set a rack in the middle-and lower the thermostat-to get more bottom heat on the baking dish, and slower cooking, to set the custard in the pudding. Stay flexible, though: you might want to move the pudding higher if the top is not browning as you want it-or you might need to cover it if it's darkening too fast even at a lower temperature setting. And when you are roasting or braising in the oven and there is too much liquid in the pan, just set the pan directly on the floor of the oven, where you get the most intense bottom heat.
• So please don't just let your oven do whatever it wants-there are ways to control it.

GRAPE FOCACCIA

Steps:

• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment, mix together flour and yeast. Add water and mix on medium speed until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until bubbling and doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Add salt; attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment and mix on low speed 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium and mix 30 seconds more (dough should be loose and sticky).
• Using a dough scraper, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold bottom edge of dough up toward center of dough and gently pat to deflate. Fold top edge down toward center, slightly overlapping bottom edge; pat gently, tapping off excess flour as you work (dough will be difficult to handle, but try not to incorporate too much flour). Gently transfer dough to a large bowl, seam-side down. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and repeat folding process. Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees (425 degrees if using a convection oven) with rack in center lined with a pizza stone, for at least 45 minutes.
• Coat a 14-by-3-inch round cake pan with 1/3 cup oil; turn dough out into pan, coating with oil. With oiled fingertips, push dough out toward edges of pan. If dough starts to retract, cover with plastic and let stand 5 minutes, then continue until it reaches edges of pan. In a bowl, toss grapes with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; arrange evenly on top of dough, gently pressing to adhere. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand 45 minutes.
• Liberally sprinkle dough with flaky salt and sanding sugar. Dough should be well oiled; if necessary, drizzle with up to 2 tablespoons more oil.
• Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bottom is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Immediately transfer focaccia to a wire rack. Drizzle with any oil remaining in pan; sprinkle again with more flaky salt and sanding sugar. Let cool slightly. Focaccia may be served warm or at room temperature.

GRAPE RICOTTA BREAKFAST FOCACCIA

Steps:

• Put a baking sheet in the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Pour the melted butter on a 12-inch round pizza pan. Place dough on pan and turn to coat with butter. Gently stretch dough to fit pan. Scatter grapes on top of dough and sprinkle fennel over all. Bake in oven, rotating the pan halfway through, until dough is brown and grapes are grapes get juice and reduce in size, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove the focaccia from the oven. Drizzle with the honey, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper evenly over all. Let focaccia cool 10 minutes or more before serving. Slice into eight wedges and serve warm or at room temperature with ricotta on the side.

FOCACCIA WITH ROSEMARY AND GRAPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Roll the pizza dough into a rectangle on a sheet of parchment paper. Place the dough and the parchment on a baking sheet.
• Using a pastry brush, cover the top of the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle the dough with coarse sea salt. Sprinkle the dough with the garlic, shallot, and rosemary. Spread the grapes over the top of the dough and push down into the dough.
• Bake the focaccia until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

BREAKFAST FOCACCIA WITH GRAPES AND FIGS

Steps:

• To make the dough, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the olive oil and the salt. Whisk, then stir in the flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a soft dough.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and form it into a ball. Put the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, turning the dough to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Prepare a medium-hot fire (425°F) in a wood-fired oven or cooker.
• Lightly oil a 12 by 17-inch baking sheet. Place the dough on the pan and stretch to cover as much of the pan as possible. Dimple the top and stretch again. Cover with a towel and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
• Brush the dough with 3 tablespoons of the orange olive oil and sprinkle on the rosemary and 1 tablespoon of the vanilla turbinado sugar. Gently press the grapes, figs, and candied orange peel into the dough. Dimple the dough again. Cover with a towel to rest for another 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle on the remaining vanilla turbinado sugar and place in the oven. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with the remaining orange olive oil. Place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the baking sheet to further cool. Cut into serving-size squares or rectangles and serve.
• Candied Orange Peel
• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest and part of the white pith from the fruit in strips. Cut the peel into 1/8-inch-wide strips. Place in a nonreactive saucepan and cover with the simple syrup. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss with the sugar and leave out uncovered overnight to let dry.
• Place in an airtight jar with half of the sugar. Reserve the remaining citrus oil-infused sugar in a separate jar for future use as a garnish or as flavored sugar.
• citrus olive oils
• Some condiment olive oils are a combination of two fruits, the olive and a citrus fruit, that have been pressed together. The process allows all the essential oils of the citrus to join with the oil of the olives. My favorite ones are from the Olive Press in Sonoma, California (see Resources). These finishing oils are wonderful as a baking ingredient, a dressing ingredient, in a marinade, or as a finishing oil simply drizzled over grilled fish or tossed onto plain pasta. They will transform the simplest of foods. Try the Meyer lemon, blood orange, and clementine oils (see Resources).
• vanilla turbinado sugar
• Turbinado sugar is a natural raw cane sugar that has not been bleached or over-processed. It is the result of slowly boiling layer upon layer of sugarcane, which allows the golden chunky crystals to retain their natural molasses and richness of flavor. Use it as an ingredient (especially to sweeten whipped cream) or sprinkle it on cookies or pie crusts. To make vanilla turbinado sugar, place a used vanilla bean pod or two in a jar of turbinado sugar and let stand for about 1 week to infuse the sugar with the vanilla flavor.