Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia 5.08 The Party's Over

“Man, something smells crazy good in here. Oh my God, what are you making?” “… roasted garlic with rosemary focaccia.” “You're the perfect man.”

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of active dry yeast

• 2 tsp sugar

• 2 cups lukewarm water

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 tsp kosher salt, divided (2 tsp, 1 tsp)

• 4 tbsp olive oil, divided (2 tbsp, 2 tbsp)

• 1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

• 2 tbsp honey

• 1 bulb garlic

Directions:

1. Add the yeast and sugar to the water and let sit for about 10 minutes, allowing the yeast to become foamy.

2. Meanwhile, combine the flour and 2 tsp of salt in large mixing bowl.

3. Gradually, add the yeasty water to the flour mixture using a dough hook. If you don’t have a dough hook, you can use your hands, but make sure they’re greased and floured.

4. Brush 2 tbsp of olive oil on top of the dough and cover with an airtight lid. Allow to rise for an hour before transferring to the fridge to rise overnight or 8 hours.

5. After completing the initial rise, grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with the remaining olive oil then transfer the dough to the dish. You will need to use 2 forks to ease the dough from the sides of the bowl.

6. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest and come to room temperature for another 2 hours.

7. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

8. After the dough is done resting, grease your hands with a light layer of olive oil.

9. Carefully stretch the dough to fit the entire 9x13 inch dish. Using your fingers, dimple the dough all over the surface.

10. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tsp of salt and rosemary leaves over the surface of the dough.

11. Drizzle the honey over the surface of the dough.

12. Peel the outer skin of the garlic and cut off about ½ inch off one end of the bulb.

13. Wrap the entire bulb of garlic in foil.

14. Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes at 425 F or until golden brown.

15. Roast the garlic for 40-45 minutes at 425 F or until soft.

16. Once the garlic has cooled enough to handle, squeeze out the roasted garlic from the bulb. It should be like a paste. Spread the roasted garlic on the focaccia.

Adapted from Alexandra Cooks

This is the dough before it rises.

We have reached another big food episode, albeit one we don’t necessarily think of at first when we think of big food episodes. It’s not like the Bracebridge Dinner or the 4 Thanksgivings, but there is a feast, nonetheless. Like when Sookie made a really big meal for Jess when he first moves to Stars Hollow, Luke makes a lot of food for a special date with Lorelai. I had a hard time deciding what to make for this episode though because there was so much good food that sounded tasty to me. I had my Instagram followers vote and the winner was the rosemary focaccia! And I was definitely pleased with the results.

All ready for the oven!

Happy Cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!

Prepare to have your house smelling amazing while this bakes!