Wow.  Do any flavors go together better than rosemary and olives?  If so, it’s gotta be pretty close, cause I’m pretty sure rosemary and olives were put on this earth to be eaten together.  Particularly in focaccia form.  I had never made focaccia before – so was definitely surprised at how fantastic this recipe came out.  It was seriously difficult to not eat this all in one day.  Somehow we managed to make it to daylight so I could snap a picture.

I highly recommend using a good quality pitted kalamata olive, as I think this is what made this bread so tasty.  There is a lot of rising and waiting – but it was worth it, as the texture was also absolutely perfect.  In the event you do not like olives – you can always just omit the rosemary and olives, and top this with whatever you like – cheese, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, or any topping that strikes your fancy.

Rosemary and Olive Focaccia

From epicurious.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm water (105°F; to 115°F;)
• 2 teaspoons dry yeast
• 4 1/2 cups (about) all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 24 pitted black olives (such as Kalamata), sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)

Sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water; stir and let proof for about 10 minutes.  Mix together the flour, salt and the yeast mixture until well combined – the dough may seem sticky.  Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and stretchy.  Place the dough in an oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 90 minutes until doubled.  Punch dough down, and knead back into a ball.  Cover, and let rise for an additional 45 minutes until doubled again.  Punch dough down again.  Prepare a cookie sheet by greasing lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Press the dough into a rectangle shape using your finger tips.  Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.  Drizzle the dough with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Sprinkle the olives evenly over the dough.  Let the dough rise for about 25 minutes, or until puffy.  Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Press dough down with fingertips, creating little indentations all over the dough.    Bake for 20 minutes, or until the dough is lightly browned.  Enjoy!

My husband and I just returned from a recent trip to the Waterworks restaurant in Philadelphia (which was fabulous, and I highly recommend.  Great views of the Schuylkill – both river and expressway) for our anniversary.  One of the most outstanding parts of the meal was the olive bread the restaurant served with dinner – now, I am normally not an olive-lover, but I gave it a try and it was fantastic!  When making bread this weekend to pair with some soup, I decided to go out on a limb and give baking my own olive bread a shot.  The rosemary balances very nicely with the olive flavor; it would be a great accompaniment to a special meal for company, but easy enough to make just for a night in with the family.  I based the recipe off of a bread recipe found in the Mark Bittman cookbook that we’re so fond of on Domestic Pursuits, making a few adjustments. 

Ingredients:

3 and 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 cup diced olives

1 and 1/2 scant cups of water

1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl.  Add the rosemary and olives to the mixture.  Mix in the water and olive oil to form a dough.  If the dough is too dry (unlikely!) then add water 1 tablespoon at a time.  Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1-2 hrs, covered in a non-airtight container.  Knead the dough several times on a flour-dusted surface, folding so that the top is smooth.  Place the dough on a cornmeal dusted pizza peel and let rise for an additional hour.   In the meantime, place a pizza stone and a broiler pan in the oven.  About 20 minutes before the dough has finished rising, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Set aside a cup of warm water.   Just before baking, dust the dough with flour and slash the top of the dough with a very sharp knife.  Pour the water into the heated broiler pan, and quickly slide the dough onto the pizza peel.  Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.  Enjoy!