The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (288 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Focaccia can easily disappoint when it turns out heavy and thick. We wanted a light, airy loaf, crisp-crusted and topped with just a smattering of herbs. To start, a sponge (a mixture of flour, water, and yeast that rests, often overnight) gave us the flavor benefits of a long fermentation with minimal effort. But our loaves weren’t tender and airy enough. Thinking that kneading was developing too much gluten, we tried a gentler approach. A high proportion of water to flour and a long resting process let the natural enzymes in the wheat replicate the effect of kneading. We shaved an hour off our proofing time by adding the salt later in the process, preventing it from slowing down the activity of the enzymes. To give our loaves a flavorful, crisp crust, we oiled the baking pans and added coarse salt for flavor and extra texture. This focaccia was a revelation: crackly crisp on the bottom, deeply browned on top, with an interior that was open and airy.

MAKES TWO 9-INCH ROUND LOAVES

If you don’t have a baking stone, bake the bread on an overturned and preheated rimmed baking sheet set on the lowest oven rack. For more information on folding and turning the dough in step 3, see
“FOLDING BREAD DOUGH”
.

SPONGE

DOUGH

1. FOR THE SPONGE:
Combine flour, water, and yeast in large bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Use immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 3 days (allow to stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding with recipe).

2. FOR THE DOUGH:
Stir flour, water, and yeast into sponge with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature for 15 minutes.

3.
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over dough; stir into dough until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with vegetable oil spray. Fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (for total of 8 folds). Cover with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding, turning, and rising 2 more times, for total of three 30-minute rises.

4.
One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Gently transfer dough to lightly floured counter. Lightly dust top of dough with flour and divide it in half. Shape each piece of dough into 5-inch round by gently tucking under edges. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons oil each. Sprinkle each pan with ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon salt. Place round of dough in 1 pan, top side down; slide dough around pan to coat bottom and sides with oil, then flip dough over. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover pans with plastic and let rest for 5 minutes.

5.
Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch it again.) Using dinner fork, poke entire surface of dough 25 to 30 times, popping any large bubbles. Sprinkle rosemary evenly over top of dough. Let dough rest in pans until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.

6.
Place pans on baking stone and lower oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake until tops are golden brown, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and return to rack. Brush tops with any oil remaining in pans. Cool for 30 minutes before serving. (Leftover bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for 2 days. Wrapped with additional layer of aluminum foil, bread can be frozen for up to 1 month.)

Omit salt from pans in step 4. Substitute 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted, rinsed, and chopped coarse, 4 rinsed and minced anchovy fillets, and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes for rosemary. Sprinkle each focaccia with ¹⁄
₄
cup finely grated Pecorino Romano as soon as it is removed from oven.

Cook 4 ounces finely chopped pancetta in 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most of fat has been rendered, about 10 minutes. Remove pancetta with slotted spoon and transfer to paper towel–lined plate. Add 1 chopped red onion and 2 tablespoons water to fat left in skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until onion is soft and beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and set aside. Omit rosemary. After poking surface of dough rounds in step 5, sprinkle with pancetta, onion, and 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano. Continue with recipe as directed.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Great garlic bread starts with potent, but not overpowering, garlic flavor. We toasted a generous amount of whole garlic cloves to mellow the harshness and highlight the rich, sweet, nutty flavor. We used butter sparingly to give the bread ample richness without marring its texture with overwhelming greasiness. And we added a sparing amount of cheese for depth and complexity without interfering with the garlic flavor.

SERVES 6 TO 8

Plan to pull the garlic bread from the oven when you are ready to serve the other dishes—it is best served piping hot.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Meanwhile, toast garlic cloves in 8-inch skillet over medium heat, shaking pan occasionally, until fragrant and color of cloves deepens slightly, about 8 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel and mince cloves (you should have about 3 tablespoons). Using dinner fork, mash garlic, butter, Parmesan, and salt in bowl until thoroughly combined.

2.
Spread cut sides of loaf evenly with garlic and butter mixture; season with pepper. Transfer loaf halves, buttered side up, onto rimmed baking sheet and bake until surface of bread is golden brown and toasted, 5 to 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Cut each half into 2-inch slices; serve immediately.

Mash 1 tablespoon each minced fresh basil and chives and 1¹⁄
₂
teaspoons each minced fresh thyme and oregano into garlic and butter mixture.

Mash 4 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce into garlic and butter mixture. Increase baking time to 10 to 12 minutes.

Decrease salt to ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon and increase Parmesan to ¹⁄
₄
cup. Mash ¹⁄
₄
cup grated Asiago cheese and 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard into garlic and butter mixture.

Decrease salt to ¹⁄
₄
teaspoon and mash 2 ounces softened goat cheese into garlic and butter mixture. Increase baking time to 10 to 12 minutes.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Garlic bread is a balancing act between the butter, garlic, and bread. Add gooey cheese to the mix and things get complicated. We wanted cheese-topped garlic bread that was crisp on the outside but chewy within, buttery all the way through, and with no bitter garlic aftertaste.

Supermarket baguettes already have a chewy interior and crisp crust, so we started there. Grating the garlic cloves made for a smoother butter, and to tone down the garlic’s harshness we sautéed it in butter with a little water (to prevent burning). We mixed the garlic into more softened butter, spread it on our split baguette, and wrapped the bread in foil. Baking it this way “steams” the bread and infuses it with garlic-butter flavor. To crisp the crust, we took the bread out of the foil and baked it a little longer. The final adornment was the cheese; rather than shredding several different kinds ourselves, we took a shortcut and used a prepackaged mixture of shredded Italian cheeses. The last step was to run it under the broiler, which gave us both melted cheese and an extra-crisp crust.

SERVES 6 TO 8

The serrated edges on a bread knife can pull off the cheesy crust. To prevent this, place the finished garlic bread cheese side down on a cutting board. Slicing through the crust first (rather than the cheese) will keep the cheese in place.

1.
Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Cook garlic, 1 tablespoon butter, and water in 8-inch nonstick skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally, until straw-colored, 7 to 10 minutes.

2.
Mix hot garlic, remaining 7 tablespoons butter, salt, and pepper in bowl and spread on cut sides of bread. Sandwich bread back together and wrap loaf in aluminum foil. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

3.
Carefully unwrap bread and place halves, buttered sides up, on baking sheet. Bake until just beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set oven to broil.

4.
Sprinkle bread with cheese. Broil until cheese has melted and bread is crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer bread to cutting board with cheese side facing down. Cut into pieces and serve.