Herb Focaccia

So, I was talking to one of my best friends from childhood, Shannon, and she was talking to me about her new love of baking!  How exciting is THAT?!  One more thing to bond over!  Anyway, I told her that I'd get my focaccia recipe on here and, like the great friend I am, it's taken me over a week to get it on here!  Whoops.  I hate it when life gets in the way of things you want to do.  Am I right?

Anyway, this is a great, easy focaccia recipe that takes just over an hour, start to finish.  I love it!  Nothing makes a house smell better than fresh baked bread, either.  This can make two small loaves or one large one.  Put whatever type of herbs on it you want.  YUM!  And Shannon, you've got to let me know how it turns out!

Herb Focaccia

3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pkg fast-acting yeast
1 C water
2 T vegetable oil
1 egg
3-4 T olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary or basil leaves, crushed (I like a little garlic too)

Grease a cookie sheet.  I a large bowl, combine 1 C of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast; mix well.  In a small saucepan, heat the water and oil until very warm, 120-130 degrees.  Add warm liquid and the egg to the flour mixture.  Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes at medium speed.  By hand, stir in an additional 1 3/4 C flour until dough pulls away from the sides of a bowl.  On a floured surface, knead in 3/4 C flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Cover with large bowl (or your mixing bowl) and let rest for 5 minutes. (You can also do the "by hand and kneading" part with the dough hook on your mixer)

Place dough on greased cookie sheet.  Roll or press to a 12-inch circle.  Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and a cloth towel.  Let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees) until light and doubled in size, about 30 minutes.  You can also proof it in the oven by placing a small metal bowl with water down in the bottom my the element, turning your oven onto the lowest setting, then, after it reaches temp, turning it off and letting the bread rise in there.

Heat the oven to 400.  Uncover the dough.  With fingers or handle of wooden spoon, poke holes in dough at 1 inch intervals.  Drizzle 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of dough.  Sprinkle evenly with rosemary.

Bake at 400 for 17-27 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool on wire rack.  If you're making 2 smaller 8-inch loaves, bake for 10-20 minutes.