Sweet Focaccia with Oranges
Aside from rise time for the dough, required effort for this focaccia is very minimal.
Servings: 1 sheet focaccia
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 tablespoon (10 g / 0.35 oz) fresh yeast instant or active yeast (same quantity) also works equally well; no need to bloom instant yeast.
- 4 tablespoon (84 g) honey reduce to 1 tablespoon if making "savory" batch
- 1 ½ cups (350 ml) cold water
- 2.9 cups (400 g / 14 oz) white flour
- 0.7 cups (100 g / 3.65 oz) whole-wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon fine salt
- 3 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Topping
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur e.g. Triple Sec or Grand Marnier
- 2 oranges finely cut into ⅓-inch thick slices
Assembly
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves for garnish
Instructions
Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the dough hook attachment*, bloom the yeast with ¾ of the total water amount, about 5 minutes. Add the honey, both flours, and the salt. Knead at a low speed for 3 minutes until a ball of dough forms.
- Stream in the olive oil, continue kneading at medium speed for 7 minutes. Continuing to knead, gradually add the rest of the water until fully absorbed.
- Grease a bowl with olive oil, add the dough ball, cover loosely with oiled cling film and side aside to rest until the dough doubles in size (about 1 - 1 ½ hours).
Topping
- While the dough is rising, whisk together the water, sugar, and orange liqueur. Add the orange slices and let soak.
Assembly
- Lightly grease your work surface (a large board or counter), roll/pat the dough ball out on the surface into a 15-by-21-inch rectangle.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place half the soaked orange slices on the parchment paper, staying within a 15-by-21-inch rectangle. Lift the dough and place so it covers the orange slices. Cover the top of the dough with the remaining half of the orange slices. Sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Let rise for 1 hour.
- While the focaccia rises, preheat the oven to 410 F. It needs to be at 410 F for at least 20 minutes before you bake the focaccia.
- Bake the focaccia for 20 minutes, until golden brown along the edges.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
*Don't have a mixer with the dough hook attachment? Never fear. This dough is quite easy to work with by hand. Just follow the instructions, doing the kneading on a clean counter instead of mechanically.
Alternatively, toss all the ingredients in a bread machine at once, set it to dough, and walk away until the cycle completes.
Alternatively, toss all the ingredients in a bread machine at once, set it to dough, and walk away until the cycle completes.