Focaccia Experiment #4

This afternoon, while the girls napped, I made my fourth attempt at improving my focaccia recipe. This time, I used all bread flour, one packet of yeast, and kneaded it by hand. In my previous three experiments, I used my stand mixer to knead the dough. Perhaps kneading it by hand will result in softer dough.

Here it is, ready for its first rise:

I had a helper, my 4 year old, who liked eating the dough (??!!)

Second rise

Caramelizing onions and apples with thyme for a topping

The finished product- one half topped with cherry tomatoes and sliced garlic, the other half topped with the aforementioned caramelized onions, apples, and thyme:

Experiment 4 was a success. Kneading by hand seems to be the key - the bread was a lot softer and less tough. Oh, well, I always thought that was the beauty of the stand mixer - that you could use it for breads, too. I had a little dough left over, and a pint of blueberries that needed to be used, so I tried my hand at a dessert focaccia - I'll post a picture later. When the kids are in bed, it will be me, a slice of focaccia (or two) and a glass of wine. Mmmmmmm