Easy Focaccia

Normally, I don't really like focaccia that much; maybe because it's usually greasy in a restaurant and smeared with too much pesto. But a recipe in The New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas caught my eye a few weeks ago, and I tried it. OK, but not spectacular; a little too flat and not a particularly good texture for all its 10 minutes of kneading. Today I thought I'd try again, since I really wanted some white bread and we didn't have any in the house. This one requires very little kneading and just a short rise. (Its essentially my pizza crust recipe with white flour and a longer rise.) It has a great texture, moist and soft; however, it will dry out fast and have a crumbly texture once it's stale, so best to eat quickly.

Easy Focaccia

2 1/4 cups flour plus more as necessary (up to about 1/4 cup more)
1 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast (or 1 envelope if you have envelope yeast)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
glug of olive oil (plus more to brush surface and grease baking sheet)
herbs or seeds (I used a mixture of toasted sesame seeds and toasted fennel seeds)

Combine the yeast and warm water. Combine other ingredients in a large bowl, starting with 2 1/4 cups flour. (You can reserve the herbs to scatter on top, but if you have to invert the bread to get it out of the pan they may fall off.) Stir with a wooden spoon until combined. If dough is too sticky to handle, continue adding flour JUST until you can handle it; do not add too much or the bread will be dry. Knead about 30 seconds. Let rest about five minutes. Flour a cutting board or countertop and your rolling pin well. Roll and/or pat the dough out to about a 13 by 9 rectangle and transfer to a 13 by 9 greased baking pan. If there are some tears, you can just patch them by tearing bits off the thicker edges; it won't show. Let rise 20 minutes to a half hour, until doubled.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Brush the dough with a little oil and bake on the middle rack about 7-8 minutes (start checking at 5); the dough is done when it is beginning to be golden and sounds hollow when thumped.

Cut into slices and serve warm.