Focaccia Bread

Carbs are wonderful things, especially with a yummy Italian meal. You can buy bread at the store, but that's expensive (and loaded with lots of words I can't pronounce). Here is my favorite focaccia recipe to accompany any italian meal. If you make this bread in the Mojave desert, it doesn't take much flower to achieve the proper elasticity. If you make this bread in muggy Alabama (who knew October could be so warm and humid in central AL?), you'll need even more. When I'm at home, I substitute some of the white flour for wheat flower (usually the 3/4 cup) and the results are still yummy. I'm visiting my folks now, so its all white today.

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix in the vegetable oil and water.
2. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

as a side note, I usually omit the cheese on top to accomidate my allergic child...its still yummy

from allrecipes.com