Last month I shared with you that I am participating in LittleFarmFolk’s #MAKEBREAD365 challenge.
In January we made everyday sandwich bread and my choice was oatmeal bread. You can read all about that here. The February challenge is focaccia which is a large, flat Italian bread sprinkled with olive oil, salt and often herbs.
An added challenge for me is that I am spending the month of February away from my home and my own kitchen. My cooking and baking are limited while on vacation so I knew I would not necessarily have all the tools and ingredients I would normally have on hand. In preparation, I reviewed the recipe I would be using, Natashia’s Kitchen Focaccia Bread, and packed a few items to bring with me including:
- My food thermometer
- a small amount of honey
- olive oil
- dried Italian seasoning
- pre-measured flour, 470 grams to be exact.
There are two things I have learned over the years that have made a huge difference in my bread making success and that is to measure the temperature of the water before adding the yeast (approximately 110 degrees) and weighing the flour. Neither of those things are hard or time consuming so I always do them even if the recipe does not call for it. I have an inexpensive digital scale that can toggle between ounces and grams. This recipe calls for 470 grams of flour so I pre-measured that amount and packed it in a zip lock bag.
I certainly did not want to be inside when it was a sunny day outside and I could be here,
so I waited for a rainy day to make my bread!
Natashia’s recipe is very straightforward but does require several hours of rising time. She has a great video that takes you through the process step by step.
I only took a couple of pictures of my process because my work area was small and the lightening was not very good.
The final result was fabulous. A savory bread, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
This bread paired so well with the pasta dinner I made that evening. It also works great sliced in half for sandwich bread. I shared a few pieces with my friend and condo neighbor who sliced it and used it for toast.
I will definily be making this bread again and I highly encourage you to try Natasha’s recipe, it is worth the time it takes to make it!! Up next month, tortillas!
Now back to that beach….
