Prep
time: 2 hours
Cook
time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6
INGREDIENTS:
Yeast starter:
1 cup warm water (105°F)
½ tsp sugar
1 packet (2 tsp) dry yeast
¼ cup olive oil
Dry Ingredients:
2 ¾ cups bread flour or all-purpose
flour (330g)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp dried or fresh rosemary
¼ tsp dried or fresh thyme
Additional Ingredients:
¼ cup flour as reserve and for dusting
2 Tbsp olive oil divided
INSTRUCTIONS:
For the yeast starter, dissolve half a
teaspoon of sugar in one cup of warm water, then stir in the dry yeast until
well-combined. Let this mixture sit in room temperature for 5-10 minutes, until
it starts to foam a little, then add the olive oil.
Meanwhile, combine all the dry
ingredients in a large bowl. Keep in mind the proper way to measure flour is
to spoon it into a measuring cup and level, else you will end up with way too
much flour.
Slowly pour the yeast starter over the
dry ingredients while mixing with a non-stick spatula until clumps form and
very little powdery flour is visible. If the dough is too sticky, add more
flour one tablespoon at a time, up to 4 tablespoons.
Cover the hand you use for kneading
with extra olive oil to prevent sticking and knead the dough until everything
comes together and an even consistency is reached, for about 4 minutes. The
dough does not need to be smooth at this point.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let
the dough rise in room temperature for an hour, or until it visibly doubles in
size.
Line a baking tray with heavy duty
aluminum foil and coat the foil with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Once the dough doubles in size, punch
it down and knead it until it’s smooth.
In the baking tray, roll the dough out
into a rough 8-in by 12-in rectangle, dusting with flour to prevent sticking to
the rolling pin as needed.
Cover the dough with cling wrap and let
it rest for 15 minutes, then lightly brush with 2 tsp of olive oil and poke
holes (all the way down to the tray) in the dough using your fingers to make
the famous dimples.
Cover the dough again and let it rise
for another 45 minutes, or until almost doubled in height.
Preheat the oven to 475°F, 25 minutes prior to baking because it takes time for the oven to reach this temperature. Bake the bread on the bottom rack
for 15 minutes, or until the surface is lightly golden.
Brush with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and
sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired.
Tip: Because the oven is so hot and
most recipes call for only 350°F, this is a perfect time to bake
some cookies or cupcakes using the residual heat. Enjoy!
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