Garlic and Onion 12 grain Focaccia bread

Earlier this week I made my first hand made bread. I've made a few in my bread maker before, and have bought the dough from my local bakery and made many things from them, but I have not tried one from scratch before.  That one was a little bit of a mess to start off with , but in the end it was great!! So much so that it only lasted 2 days, and here I am 5 days later making another one!

The ingredients:  An organic red onion, local garlic, yeast , sea salt , and a half a bowl of whole wheat flour, mixed with 12 grain whole wheat flour ( 5 parts WW to 1 part 12grain )

I've got to say, I followed a very cool recipe in Jean Johnson's Hippie Kitchen. With great instructions, and almost no measuring.  The only one you need to know is 1 cup of flour to 1 teaspoon of yeast.  The rest is all up to you , or me in this case. 

A good pinch of sea salt and dried basil. For the next step you will need a cup or two of lukewarm water





I start by adding about a cup of water , stir then keep adding water till its consistent. Use a wooden spoon at this point, not your hands. 

Click the link below to see the rest :)



Once it looks like your getting somewhere and its sticking , add a few glugs of good olive oil.  Still using the spoon keep turning the dough around in the bowl. It should form into a springy blob when your done. 





At this point you will want to knead the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes, I added the minced garlic at this point so it would be incorporated into the dough.  After kneading the dough, I let it rest in the bowl I mixed it in for 20 minutes or so while the oven and oiled 12inch skillet prewarmed to around 370F



 I missed a shot of the onions , sitting in the hot , oiled pan while I hand stretched the dough.. but I put 2/3rds of the minced onion in the pan to sizzle while I stretched the dough to the skillet, i sprinkled the last third on top. Oven time!







After twenty minutes or so.. its time for a look, and to flip it over if you like crispy crusts like I do. 



It should slid nicely out of the pan, I used my bbq flipper due to its strong wide blade.  Flip over and back into the oven for another 5 or ten minutes, your call.. I went with about 7 or so.  







Flip the finished bread out onto a baking rack, and let cool for as long as you can.. I managed to wait about 15 minutes before just having to have a slice :) with a little of the Spicy Tuna/Crab Spread Id  made while this was resting.



And there you have it... simple , easy , healthy, delicious bread!!  Including rising & resting times the total time was about an hour and twenty minutes.  Once this has cooled down you can take a good bread knife and slice it horizontally in half for some really cool sandwich bread.  Or just rip & dip with your favourite sauce / spread or dip !

Enjoy!:)

Rich Fletcher

Baking