Rosemary Focaccia

Rosemary Focaccia 5 sprigs Rosemary 1 Pkg. highy active dry yeast 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water 3 ½ cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour 2 teaspoons Salt 6 tablespoons Olive oil ¼ teaspoon Black pepper, freshly ground 1 teaspoon Baking Powder 1 pinch Sugar Servings/Yield: 10 servings | 1 loaf Rating:

1.Strip the leaves from the rosemary stems and reserve about a third and leave whole. finely chop remaining leaves, 2.Add yeast and pinch of sugar to lukewarm water and mix until dissolved. Allow mixture to stand in a warm place for 5 minutes. 3.Place the flour, baking powder and salt together on work surface and mix together well. Form dry ingredients in a large well, add rosemary, yeast, 1/4 cup olive oil and black pepper. 4.With your fingertips work the ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Use a dough scrapper to form the dough into a ball. Dip you fingers into extra flour and work dough into a ball. Be careful not to add to much additional flour because dough should remain sticky. 5.Sprinkle the dough with additional flour and begin to kneed the dough. Kneed until dough is smooth and shiny.  6.Brush the inside of a mixing bowl with olive oil and put dough into the bowl. Roll the dough around to coat the entire surface with oil. 7.Cover the bowl with a wet dish towel and let the dough stand in a warm spot for 30 minutes to proof. 8.Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a half sheet pan by brushing it with olive oil. 9.Kneed the dough for an additional 5 minutes to knock out the accumulated air. Let the dough rest for 5 more minutes. 10.Turn dough out onto the sheet pan and with your fingertips flatten the dough out to cover the pan. 11.Brush dough with olive oil and decorate with reserved rosemary leaves. Poke the dough all over with your fingers to form dimples. Lightly sprinkle with salt. 12.Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until crisp crusted on bottom and lightly browned on top. 13.Cut into interesting shapes and serve with tapenade. Source Chef Jeff