Herbed Oatmeal Focaccia with Olives and Feta Cheese

Cooking Indian food can sometimes become a little monotonous with the same vegetables being available in the market and not much variation possible without onion and garlic. So I decided to take a break from the regular food and make this easy yet gorgeous Focaccia to serve with my healthy yet yummy Broccoli Soup. My bakes are usually accompanied by some experiment and today it was with oatmeal flour, homemade. Nothing fancy though, the use of oatmeal rather than the usual wholewheat flour lends a different texture to the bread, which is quite close to a white bread, unlike the more dense wholewheat bread. And after all the effort of making this beautiful Focaccia, I could not even grab a whole piece. So yummy it was, the whole Focaccia was gobbled up by my baby, hubby, and Father-in-Law! I guess next time I should reserve a piece for myself first before serving to the rest! :)

                                             

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup bread flour (all purpose flour can be used as well)

1 cup oatmeal flour (dry roast quick cooking/rolled oats and grind to a fine powder; optionally, you can seive the flour before using)

1 1/2 tsp instant active dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp garlic salt (I used regular as I have to make it sans garlic)

2 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

180 ml warm water

50 ml warm milk (can add or reduce as per requirement during kneading)

2 tbsp olive oil (I used a spiced olive oil from the Feta cheese can)

2 tbsp steak seasoning or any Italian seasoning of your choice

Few slices of olives 

2 tbsp freshly chopped dill or any herb of your choice

For the Topping

A handful of Feta cheese cubes

A handful of sliced olives 

4-5 cherry tomatoes sliced

Italian seasoning for sprinkling

Dry grated parmesan cheese

Direction

In a bowl, mix the warm water and sugar and dissolve the yeast. Let it stand for 10 minutes until foamy.

Now in another bowl, take the oatmeal flour, salt, steak seasoning, grated parmesan, fresh herbs and mix well. Now add the yeast mixture and mix everything well till a clayey mix is formed without any lumps. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes until slightly bubbled and foamy. This is the sponge or biga. 

                                       

Now add the cornflour and the flour little at a time. Add the oil and the milk little at a time and start kneading the dough. Do not be anxious to add extra flour or oil to do away with the stickiness. Add the few olive slices and continue kneading and you will get a smooth and silky dough in about 5-10 minutes. However, be sure not to knead a dry dough. It should be smooth and elastic non sticky dough at the end of the kneading process. Now lightly oil the dough and cover with a clingwrap and keep in a warm place for the dough to rise, about 1-2 hours.

                                       

Take the dough out and punch it down. Place the dough on a parchment paper ir greased surface and roll out a circle of about 1/2 inch thickness. Place it on a greased or lined baking dish and keep covered in a warm place for the second proofing, about 45 mins to 1 hour. 

Towards the end of the proofing period pre-heat the oven at 200 degree celsius for 20 minutes. Take the dough out and brush the top with olive oil. Make indentations all over the top in a uniform pattern keeping a 1 inch space in between. Now place the sliced tomatoes, feta cheese cubes, and sliced olives and sprinkle the seasoning and the cheese. 

                                        

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes until golden on top. Towards the end I changed the oven mode to top only for a deeper browning.

                                        

Herbed Focaccia with Juicy Chicken Stuffing

Wow! That's the first thought that came to my mind when I took the first bite of this perfectly baked delight. I had called over a friend for dinner (who also shares the same plight as mine with husband touring most of the time) and wanted to bake something with chicken. I went through a big array of blogs and sites looking for the "this is it" recipe. However, nothing seemed to impress me. Everywhere it was the same old grills and pies or pizza recipes but nothing that really made me jump into action. Finally, when I had almost made up my mind with a simple quiche, I chanced upon this interesting recipe which would not only serve as a whole meal in itself but also give me the chance of experimenting something new. I had found my "this is it" recipe. While I stuck to the recipe for the focaccia, I did the stuffing differently to give a variation to the original recipe. It was a huge hit and I was a happy baker!

Ingredients

For the Focaccia

2 1/2 cups bread flour (or 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour and 3 tbsp wheat gluten)

1 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup warm water (a little less than that in actuals)

2 tbsp olive oil

For the stuffing

1 cup boneless chicken, boiled and shredded

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 medium onion thinly slced

1/2 inch ginger finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

Fresh coriander leaves chopped

1/2 cup mixed bell peppers, chopped

1 fresh red/green chilli finely chopped

2 tsp olive oil

For the topping

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

Few slices of tomato (preferably cherry tomatoes; I used regular ones)

Coarse salt for sprinkling

Direction

In a bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and yeast and let it stand for about 10 minutes till it starts frothing. In a separate bowl, take the flour and salt and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture little at a time and knead a soft non sticky dough. Add the olive oil and continue kneading for another 5-10 minutes till you have a soft elastic dough. If you find the dough too sticky, you can add 1-2 tbsp additional flour. You can transfer the dough on a lightly floured surface for more comfortable kneading. I prefer doing it in the working bowl. Once the dough is done, lightly grease the bowl and cover the dough in a cling wrap. Keep it in a warm place, probably the microwave or the oven, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours till the dough doubles in size. 

While the dough is proofing, prepare the chicken stuffing. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and fry the onions till translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, and chopped chillies. Sauté for sometime. Add the three sauces and stir in the shredded chicken. Mix well. Lastly, add the bell peppers and give a stir and remove from heat. Cover and keep aside. Reserve the coriander leaves for last minute addition. 

Meanwhile, your dough must be ready for the second proofing. Punch out the air from the dough without overdoing it and divide the dough into two halves. Keep a greased baking dish ready by the side. Take a cookie sheet and placing one of the dough halves on it, roll it out into a circle. Make sure you roll the dough uniformly and big enough since it will shrink a bit once placed on the greased baking dish. Now evenly spread the stuffing onto the rolled out dough placed on the baking dish. Sprinkle the coriander leaves on top generously. Note that no salt was added to the stuffing as the sauces already contain a fair amount of it. However, check the seasoning as per your taste and liking. Roll out the other half of the dough in a similar fashion and place it on top of the stuffing and seal the edges. You might notice some air bubble between the two rolled out sheets. Gently press the top of the baking dish with the cookie sheet you used for rolling out the dough and let the air bubble release. Cover tightly with either the cookie sheet or a cling wrap and keep aside in a warm place for 45 minutes for the second proofing. 

Mix everything for the topping except the tomatoes and the salt and keep aside. Pre-heat the oven at 175 degree celsius on toast mode. Take out the baking dish and with your fingers, imprint small dimples on the dough. Arrange the tomato slices on the top and finish with generously pouring the olive oil topping. Sprinkle salt and bake for 25-30 minutes until a golden crust is formed. Serve warm.