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.