Cooking with Opinel Culinary Ambassador, Chef Mike Kubiesa
As we’re nearing the end of summer and heading towards fall, I’m starting to think about all of the great dishes that come with the changing season! This focaccia bread will be perfect to go with fall soups and can also be paired with those summer salads. Focaccia is a versatile bread that can be created with a variety of different ingredients. This is a simple but classic version utilizing rosemary from my garden and sea salt.
The curved angle of the Parallel bread knife slices through the crusty bread effortlessly. The handle fits well in your hand, allowing for a long and smooth slicing motion.
Rosemary Sea Salt Focaccia Bread
Ingredients:
- 4 cups (512 g) bread flour
- 2 tsp (10 g) kosher salt
- 2.5 tsp (9 g) instant yeast
- 2 cups (455 g) lukewarm water
- 1 Tbsp raw honey
- 4 Tbsp good olive oil, divided
- Course or flaky sea salt for top of focaccia
- 2-4 tsp rosemary sprigs (any herb you like)
- 1-2 tsp chili flakes (optional if you like heat)
- Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over baked bread (optional)
Recipe:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add the water and honey. Using a rubber spatula, mix until the liquid is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. Rub the surface of the dough with olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a dark towel, place in the refrigerator for at least 10-12 hours or 24-48 hours for best results.
Use a 9×13-inch nonstick baking pan and use 2 Tbsp of olive oil to grease pan. Using a rubber spatula, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it toward the center. Rotate the bowl in quarter turns as you deflate and push down from the sides. Turning the dough into a rough sticky ball. Use the rubber spatula to fold and push the sticky dough ball into the oiled baking pan. Move the dough ball in the oil to coat it all over. Cover with kitchen towel and let rest for 1-3 hours in a warm area.
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 415°F convection. Drizzle 2 Tbsp of olive oil over the top of the rested dough. Coat your hands lightly in oil as well and using your fingers, press straight down to create deep dimples. While creating dimples also push dough towards the sides of pan to gently stretch the dough to fill the pan. Sprinkle of dough with rosemary and course sea salt, add more olive oil if needed.
Place pan in the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotate bread midway (more or less if needed.) Bake until the underside is golden, sides are crispy and top is dark golden brown. Remove the focaccia from the oven and quickly remove focaccia from baking pan (be careful it will be really hot.) Transfer hot focaccia to a large cooling rack. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and let it completely cool down before wrapping and storing. Enjoy!
Parallele Bread Knife
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Recipe courtesy of
Chef Mike, a private chef based in Chicago, Illinois, and the
Opinel Culinary Ambassador. Along with seasonally focused recipes, Chef Mike will spend the next few months offering up tips and tricks for cooking at home and outside with Opinel. See more recipes from Chef Mike
here.
