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Foccacia is a well oiled & salted bread meant to be torn & shared among friends. The texture & chew of this focaccia is so divine with airy pockets suspending precious herbed & garlicky olive oil. the asiago giving it a lovley golden crust.

Wendi’s Asiago Rosemary Focaccia

serves8(begin early in the day or a day ahead)

• 1 package of dry active yeast

• 3 1/2-4 cups bread flour (I use locally milled whenever possible or King Author)

• 3 tsp. salt (divided)

• 1/2 cup olive oil, divided

• 1 Tbsp. finely minced, fresh rosemary

• 4 plump cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 cup Asiago, freshly grated

1.) Poolish (see notes below). In a 1-quart glass measure, sprinkle 1/2 tsp. dry yeast over 1/2 cup of cool water. Let it stand for 5 minutes to get creamy. Stir in 3/4 cup flour until smooth. Let it stand in a warm place (80F) covered tightly with plastic wrap then covered with a tea towel until bubbly & doubled in size, 2-2 1/2 hours.

2.) In a bowl, add remaining yeast to 3/4 cup cool water & let it stand for 5 minutes. Stir in poolish, 2 tsp. of salt, 2 Tbsp. olive oil & 1 cup of flour. Beat with a spoon until stretchy & shiny, about 5 minutes. Stir in an additional 3/4 cup flour until well combined. Scrape dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth & elastic, about 15-20 minutes adding as little flour as possible to prevent sticking(or mix in a Kitchenaid using a dough hook) . Shape into a smooth ball.

3.) Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat, smooth side up. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, cover with a tea towel & allow dough to rise in a warm place (80f) until doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours.

5.) Punch down dough with a floured fist & knead a few times in the bowl to release excess air. Allow the dough to rest 10 minutes.

6.) Press out dough into a well oiled casserole dish (2Tsbp. olive oil). Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil & scatter rosemary, garlic & Asiago over the surface, sprinkle with remaining salt. Using your fingers tips, work the oil mixture into the bread, creating holes & pockets. Cover tightly with plastic wrap & a tea towel. Allow to rise until doubled in size. Heat oven to 450f. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate 180 degrees. Continue baking another 5-10 minutes or until just golden brown in spots.

Poolish; usually consisting of water, flour & yeast, is classified as a wet sponge. A pre-ferment. Using a poolish gives you a greater depth of flavor & maturity in a shorter period of time. I often do my poolish the day before & refrigerate it instead of leaving it in a warm place. This gets one step out of the way & the cold fermentation, in my opinion yields a tangier sponge as the process is slower & gentler. You can actually make it up to 3 days in advance. Remove from refrigeration 1 hour prior to using it in your bread, allowing the ferment to come to room temperature.