weekend baking...sundried tomato, onion and olive foccacia

for many chefs, there is one food, one recipe, one ingredient even, that constantly causes them grief - one thing that they repeatedly attempt to make but that never seems to work out just right. for some, creating a perfect, flaky pie crust is that thing - hours are spent cutting cold butter into white flour, adding a touch of salt or a touch of cornstarch in pursuit of a crust that is forgiving yet durable, tender yet sturdy, but to no avail. for others, the perfect tomato sauce is the ultimate nemesis. chefs experiment with fresh tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, green tomatoes, forever searching for the right combination of acidity and subtle sweetness, of tang and mellowness. for me, it appears as though that holy grail is a good loaf of bread (hence the title of my first post).

in december i decided that the appropriate thing to do on new year's day was to bake bread. in sri lankan tradition, we always make kiribath, or milk-rice on the first day of the year or the first day of a new endeavour (i.e. a new house, a new job etc). kiribath is one of my favourite things to eat, ever. it's basically a really thick rice pudding made with any kind of short grain rice and coconut milk. you can either eat it as a sweet thing (with hakuru - palm treacle that has been solidified into a really heavy rock of dark, intense sweetness), or as a savory thing (with lunu miris: red onion, lime and chili). anyway, we always make kiribath on new year's day but this year i wanted to add to the fesitivies by baking a loaf (or two) of bread. i followed a basic recipe from Good Housekeeping; both loaves turned out wonderfully and were gone in a matter of days. they were so successful, in fact, that i continued my bread baking adventures by making a black olive focaccia bread after being inspired by an episode of Chef at Home in which one of my favourite chefs, Michael Smith, made the crunchy, airy loaf for his family. my black olive foccacia was a huge success and i was so thrilled with the outcome that i was ready to proclaim myself a master bread baker.

i was invigorated by my string of successful attempts in january. bread, it seemed, was something that was easy for me. i even made brioche, which is one of the most difficult breads to make! surely i wasn't wrong to think that i was approaching pro-bread baker status. i had a gift, a natural gift at bread making. it wouldn't be long until people would hear about my bread baking prowess and comission various loaves from me week after week after week. i decided to prepare for the imminent onslaught of bread demands by expanding my repetoire and trying out some new recipes. i set out to make a really dense, healthy bread one weekend. i had done the simple white loaf; i had made a fancy artisinal foccacia; i had conquered the buttery-sweet and oh-so-French brioche. this was the inevitable next step. i was so excited shopping for ingredients - i bought dark rye flakes, sunflower seeds and hard whole wheat flour, thinking i was going to create a crusty, hearty loaf for my family to enjoy with some home made soup over the weekend. i awoke early on a saturday morning to activate the yeast, dissolving it in lukewarm water and feeding it a teaspoon of sugar. everything was going well. bubbles were forming, the mixture was foamy. i happily added the rye flakes, which i had taken the time to toast slowly in a pan over low heat. i sprinkled in some salt, a few handfuls of sunflower seeds. things were great. and then i dumped in the whole wheat flour. and i knew it was a mistake, i really did. whole wheat flour is fantastic, but it's heavy and hard and it doesn't rise easily. as soon as i added it, the dough became stiff, almost immoveable. i struggled to knead the crumbly, heavy dough in vain, determined not to let the good ingredients go to waste. i placed it in a well-oiled bowl and set it in a warm place to rise, even though i knew it was going to be a disappointment. when i checked on it a few hours later it had gone nowhere fast. it certainly smelled wonderful and it had all of the components of a great loaf, it seemed. i even baked it, but it turned out to be so salty and dense that i decided not to subject my family to it and threw it in the compost.

i was dejected. my confidence as a bread baker deflated, i resigned myself to a lifetime of yeast-free baking, vowing that i just didn't have what it took to make bread. i spent the next few weeks peering longingly into bakeries at the rows and rows of light, airy loaves, happily sitting on the shelves. i read all that i could about bread baking, wondering if i could ever again bring myself to venture back to the world of rising and kneading, of time and patience. i wanted to try again, i really did, but my fear convinced me that i should give up my quest to become a master bread baker, at least temporarily. and then one day, i recalled a recipe from Michael Smith. i remembered an episode of his show in which he baked a loaf of bread in a covered pot in his oven. (side note: i really like Michael Smith because he doesn't just cook; he takes the time to really explain the science behind his recipes and i've learned a great deal from him). i went to his website and found a recipe for a no-knead bread dough. now, soon i will write a separate entry about this recipe, but let me just say that it restored my faith in my bread baking skills. the recipe was effortless and the bread that resulted from my first attempt at making it was honestly one of the best loaves i've ever tasted. this all brings me to the point of this post, really. i am slowly making my way back to the world of bread - i even made a really great homemade pizza crust! and this weekend i had the confidence to make another loaf of foccacia. the bread is still being consumed as we speak and it's been a great treat to devour over the past few cold, rainy days. this recipe is from none other than Michael Smith but i've adapted it a bit (Michael Smith's slogan is "the best recipe is cooking without a recipe" so i've really taken that to heart). enjoy...

Sundried Tomato, Onion and Olive Foccacia (adapted from Chef Michael Smith)

1 cup warm water2 teaspoons yeast
2 cups nutri-blend flour*

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse sea salt and pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 cup chopped, pitted olives (any kind will do)

1/3 cup chopped, oil-packed sundried tomatoes (drained)

1/2 small yellow onion

finely chop the onion and sautee until tender. add sundried tomatoes and onions and stir to combine. pour the water into a large bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. add 1 cup of the flour and the sugar then stir to combine. let rest for ten minutes or so, until the yeast activates and bubbles appear on surface. add the rest of the flour, salt, olive oil, pepper, thyme and olives and mix well until dough begins to form a ball. continue kneading for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. place in a large, oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and rest in a warm place until the dough doubles, about 1 hour.

lightly oil your hands then knock down the dough, pressing the air out of it. knead a few times and then place dough onto an oiled baking sheet. pull and press dough across pan until if forms a large, flattened circle and vigorously poke dimples into it with your fingertips. drizzle with olive oil, coarse salt and pepper and let rise a second time until it doubles again, about 30 minutes. while you wait preheat your oven to 450 degrees. place in oven and bake until it has formed a golden crust, but is still soft in the centre, about 40 minutes.

as always, the more time you give the dough to rest, the more intense the flavour will be.

*nutri-blend flour by Robin Hood is really great. all it is is all-purpose flour with added wheat bran and you can substitute it cup for cup with virtually any flour. it doesn't alter the taste at all and it really boosts the fibre content. i use it all the time.