No Knead Parmesan Herb Focaccia

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Red Star Yeast.  As always, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I would like to announce that I have a new favorite bread.

For someone who loves to bake bread, I honestly don’t usually eat a lot of it. I suppose cinnamon rolls and pizza would be the exception to that rule, but I digress. I always give it a try and enjoy a slice of warm bread right from the oven.  But, after that, I’m usually done. Fortunately, my hubby loves bread and happily devours whatever I bake.  So, it works out well.

Now that I’ve discovered this no knead focaccia bread from Red Star Yeast, however, he’s going to have to fight me for the bread.  The Parmesan cheese and herbs give the bread a delicate Italian flavor, but they aren’t overpowering.  I opted to add sliced red onion instead of minced onion because I thought it would be prettier.  My favorite part, though, is that it’s soft and light.  It’s the kind of bread that you just can’t stop eating. It’s easy to pull apart and dip in olive oil, pesto, pasta sauce, salad dressing… You get the point!

It’s fabulous on its own, right out of the oven (and, I bet you won’t be able to wait for it to cool), but it’s also great the next day.  One afternoon last week, we enjoyed it fresh from the oven with some summer salads. The next day, I carefully cut large squares and sliced them in half to create “rolls” for some leftover burgers, topping them with pesto and tomatoes.  And, of course, the few bits that were still left after that made perfect breadsticks for our Friday pizza night. I just toasted them up and served them with some garlic scape pesto. I may never make my regular breadsticks again.

Of course, the fact that this recipe is one of the batterway recipes (i.e. no knead!) in the Red Star Yeast collection means that it’s an easy one to whip up in an afternoon.  I made this bread by hand with just a wooden spoon (who wants to wash beater blades?) in no time at all. If you get it started after lunch (which only requires about 10 minutes of your time), you’ll have fresh focaccia bread for dinner.  Your family will thank you!

I did make a few small changes to the original batterway focaccia bread recipe when I made mine. As I mentioned above, I opted to use sliced onion instead of minced onion. I also swapped in Italian seasoning for the basil and oregano.  And, as I often do, I chose to bake with butter instead of shortening.  I’ve included the original recipe below and made a note of all of my changes, as well.  Happy baking!

No Knead Parmesan Herb Focaccia
Makes one 9 by 13-inch flat bread
(Recipe from Red Star Yeast; Used with Permission)

For the dough:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  (Jen’s Note – I substituted 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning for the basil and oregano)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (110°-115°F)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons shortening , softened
  (Jen’s Note – I substituted 3 tablespoons of softened butter for the shortening)
• 1 egg

For the topping:

• 1/2 pound of shredded natural cheese
  (Jen’s Note – I used freshly grated Parmesan cheese)
• 1/4 cup of minced onion
  (Jen’s Note – I used sliced red onion)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  (Jen’s Note – Again, I used 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning in the place of the basil and oregano)

Begin by combining the bread flour, sugar, salt, and herbs in a bowl, and set aside.  Pour the warm water into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkle with the yeast.  Let the mixture rest for 3-5 minutes.  Add the shortening (or butter) and egg along with half of the flour mixture.  Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth (1 – 2 minutes).  Add the remaining flour mixture and beat again until the mixture is smooth (an additional 1 – 2 minutes).

Scrape the batter down from the sides of the bowl.  Cover the bowl and let the batter rise until it has doubled, approximately 60 – 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan and prepare the topping by stirring together all of the ingredients. Set aside.

Once the batter has risen, transfer it to the greased pan and gently fold it into a loose rectangle, being careful not to deflate the dough.  The batter will be somewhat sticky and thick, but try to spread it evenly in the pan.  Tap the pan on a table or counter to settle the batter.

Add the topping, making dents on the topping with buttered fingers, pressing almost to the bottom of the pan.

Let the dough rise a second time until no more than doubled, approximately 30 – 40 minutes.  While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 375°F.  Bake the focaccia bread for 20 minutes, until the top and sides are golden brown.  Remove the bread from the pan adn serve warm.

Jen’s Note – Hold on to your leftover focaccia bread! Just toast it in the oven for a few minutes until it crisps up just a bit on the edges. It’s fabulous dipped in sauce or pesto!