WELCOME HOME JUSTIN WRIGHT! - The Bulletin Magazine

IN THE KITCHEN
with Moira Sanders
I was recently driving along Mount Albert side road, just west of Mount Albert, when I saw the most beautiful
sight. A few horses were in a paddock together and they were playing and being very frisky. I drew my
daughter’s attention to the horses and all of a sudden one of them kicked his back legs high up into the air. It
was truly an amazing display of “horsing around” and we felt so happy to have witnessed it. It is the same sort
of feeling I get whenever I make this focaccia bread. The focaccia comes out of the oven smelling of rosemary,
the insides full of steamy goodness and the crust containing the occasional crunch of coarse sea salt. This
dough is simple to make and you can bake off as many as four loaves all at the same time or save the dough
and bake them off one at a time over the course of the next 12 days. This recipe calls for the use of a
pizza/bread stone.
Simple Rosemary Focaccia
Makes four 1-pound loaves.
1 ½ Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 ½ Tbsp. Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil + extra for
baking the loaves
2 ¾ cups lukewarm water
6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Fresh rosemary
Coarse sea salt
Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water in
a large bowl. Mix in the flour using a large spoon or
spatula. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured
surface and knead a few times until it is smooth. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a lid or plastic
wrap (not airtight). Allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises to at least double the amount,
approximately 2 hours. Keep covered and refrigerate until needed.
On baking day, dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound piece per focaccia.
Dust the surface of the piece of dough with flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of
the dough around to the bottom. Flatten each ball using your hands or a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1
inch (2.5 cm). Let the dough rest for 20 minutes or more, until the dough has become lighter and puffier. Store
any remaining dough in the fridge for up to 12 days.
If you have a bread stone, place it on the middle rack before preheating the oven to 450 F. Generously brush
the dough with olive oil. Poke little holes in the dough and place little tufts of rosemary in each hole. Sprinkle
the dough with coarse sea salt. Let rise for an extra 10 minutes. Slide the dough, still on the
parchment paper, onto the baking stone and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove
from the oven and discard the paper. Slice into wedges and eat warm.
Moira Sanders has made a career of food which gives her inspiration for her recipe blog www.moirasanders.com
and for cooking for her busy family. Moira and her sister, Lori Elstone, have written “The Harrow Fair
Cookbook”, which is now available and is published by Whitecap Books.
Moira can be reached at moira@theharrowfaircookbook.com.
12 The Bulletin | 13TH YEAR www.TheBulletinMagazine.com