Rosemary Focaccia Bread - Phase 3

As my husband and I were preparing to smoke some meat for Super Bowl Sunday and the upcoming week, we were having a hard time deciding on dinner. Here we were with about 10lbs of chicken wings, 9lbs of pork and some ribs and none of it was for our Saturday night dinner. 

I wanted something easy and initially thought about grilled cheese and tomato soup. I asked my husband and he was like, "eh." Great. He does not sound interested. Now what? So, I went online and started looking at recipes. I stumbled upon a focaccia recipe and instantly saw I could make it FMD compliant. I pulled out my tomato soup recipes, thawed some chicken and instead of a non-FMD meal, I made something better!

This bread is so easy to make. I do have some specific rules for it, though. 

You can use sprouted wheat flour, or one of my Flour Mixes, or even spelt (for maintenance since it is Phase 1).
This will not work with coconut flour or 100% oat flour or brown rice flour. 

You really do need to lighten it a bit since sprouted wheat flour is so heavy. If you are not using a flour mix, be sure to do one of the following (I do NOT have subs for these- simply choose 1):
- add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (I no longer use or recommend Vitacost brand xanthan gum- it has messed up way too many yeast doughs for me. I use Bob's Red Mill)
- add 2T tapioca flour
- sub 1/2 cup sprouted wheat flour for almond meal or flour
- sub 1/2 cup sprouted wheat flour for sorghum flour

Next- and this one is super important- be sure to watch the first rise. You do not want to allow the dough to rise more than double it's size. (this goes for all of my FMD recipes) I cannot say how long this will take as there are too many factors involved in yeast breads rising. It might take 30 minutes, it might take 90 minutes, it might be somewhere in between. Once it is doubled, move on to the next step.

Be liberal with the olive oil. Do not be scared!

If you do not have a stand mixer- mix the dough without the salt until it forms a ball. Turn out onto a clean counter that has been lightly floured and knead the salt into the dough. Pat the dough into a flat circle. Sprinkle some of the measured salt onto the dough. Fold over and knead 8-10 times. Pat into a circle, sprinkle with a little salt and knead. Repeat until the salt is incorporated well.

Roll or press to the thickness you prefer. Are you using this for sandwiches? Do not press it super thin. Make it a circle, a rectangle- whatever you want. 

Lastly- use only fresh rosemary. Dried just won't work. 

Here you go:

Rosemary Focaccia
Phase 3
Makes 28 servings for phase 3

1 1/3 cup warm water (about 110°F*)
1 (0.25 ounce) package active-dry yeast or 2 1/2 tsp 
3 1/2 cups sprouted wheat flour (see notes above)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (see notes above)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 teaspoons flaked sea salt or course salt
2 sprigs fresh rosemary

flaked sea salt

Add warm water (*about 110°F. Use a thermometer if you do not know what this feels like) and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough attachment, and stir to combine.  

Turn the mixer onto low speed, and add gradually flour(s) and olive oil. 

Increase speed to medium-low, and continue mixing the dough for 5 minutes.  (If the dough is too sticky and isn’t pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add in an extra 1/4 cup flour while it is mixing.)

If you are stirring by hand, just mix until it forms a ball. Follow kneading steps explained above. 

Remove dough from the mixing bowl, and use your hands to shape it into a ball.  Grease the mixing bowl (or a separate bowl) with olive oil , then place the dough ball back in the bowl and cover it with a damp towel.  Place in a warm location (I put mine on my stove with the oven on) and let it rise for 45-60 minutes, or until the dough has nearly doubled in size. Be sure to not let it go more than double.


Preheat oven to 390°F. (I know this is weird but 400 was just a tad too hot in my oven. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Place the dough on the baking sheet and roll or press into the shape and thickness you want.  Generally you want the dough to be about 1/2-inch thick.  

Using your fingers, spread about a tsp of olive oil over the dough. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap or parchment, and let the dough continue to rise for another 20 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap. Now for the fun part!! Using your fingers, poke deep holes all the way down to the baking sheet, all over the surface of the dough.  Then drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil evenly all over the top of the dough, and sprinkle evenly with the fresh rosemary needles and sea salt. You can rough chop the rosemary first, if you want. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden and cooked through.  Remove from the oven, and drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired.

Slice, and serve warm.