Make some Focaccia!

I made this while I was home for Christmas. Making bread is really really fun and this is an easy bread to make. Make this bread and you'll make friends!

From the "Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook" by Crescent Dragonwagon. Yep, Crescent Dragonwagon.

What you need:

1 1/4 cups of water

3 tablespoons of dried rosemary

1 tablespoon of honey

1 tablespoon of active dry yeast

1 teaspoon of salt

4 tablespoons of olive oil

2 1/2 to 3 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon of water

Course salt

How to make it:

1. Boil water and pour it over 1 tablespoon of rosemary. Wait until it cools to luke warm, then strain and discard the rosemary.

2. Pour the rosemary water into a mixing bowl. Stir in the honey, sprinkle the yeast over the top and let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes. Stir in the salt, 1 tablespoon of the oil, then add enough of the flour to make a kneadable dough.

3. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 5-8 minutes. Coat a large bowl with a few drops of olive oil, add the dough, then turn to coat all sides. Cover with a clean cloth and then let rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.

4. Coat a 14 x 12 inch baking pan with another few drops of the olive oil. Punch the dough down and put it in the oil pan. Pat, stretch and pull it to cover the bottom. Dimple the surface with your fingertips.

5. Beat together the egg yolk, 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of water; brush this mixture over the dough. Drizzle with remaining oil, sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary and a little course salt. Cover and let rise until double in bulk, about 45 minutes.

6. About 30 minutes into the final rise, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. Bake the bread until golden and crusty, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly in the pan, then remove to a wire rack.

Then make some black bean hummus to dip it in. Yum.