Sense of Home
Rosemary and Leek Focaccia
~From the Sense of Home Kitchen, adapted from Heart of the Artichoke, by David Tanis~
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling and cooking leeks
1 cup finely sliced leeks
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Place 1/2 cup of the warm water in a small mixing bowl, add yeast and honey and stir with a wooden spoon. Let the mixture sit until bubbles form, about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 1 cup of water, 3 cups of flour, salt, and olive oil and stir with the wooden spoon until a sticky ball of dough forms and all the flour and oil are incorporated. Dust the work surface with flour and turn out the ball of dough onto it, dust the dough with flour and knead for a couple minutes.
Drizzle a little olive oil into the bowl and place the dough back into the bowl, turning dough to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until it has about doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, take it out of the bowl and place it on a baking sheet lined with Silpat or oiled. If you want a thicker focaccia use a smaller baking sheet, thinner use a larger baking sheet. Work the dough into roughly a rectangle shape filling most of the baking sheet, if you do not have Silpat, the oiled sheet will take a bit more working with the dough before the dough relaxes and lays in place. Cover the focaccia with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for another hour.
In the meantime clean and finely slice your leeks until you have approximately 1 cup of sliced leeks. Sauté the leeks in a tablespoon or so of olive oil until they are soft, set aside. Prepare your rosemary by roughly chopping, and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Uncover the risen focaccia dough, place the leeks and rosemary evenly across the dough, drizzle dough with olive oil. Poke small indentations all over the top of the focaccia dough with your finger, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until it is browned on top and the bottom appears done. Cool on pan for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
