My mom was a huge fan of Bon Appétit magazine long before my brother and I were born. In fact, she kept every magazine she ever bought from them, which I’ve now inherited into my own collection at home. It’s crazy to hold a part of the past in my hands, with magazines spanning from over 35 years ago. I love flipping through and seeing how different the ads and images are from those of today, but one thing has always remained consistent: the fact that good food and sharing recipes is truly timeless.
As an adult, I now have my own subscription to Bon Appétit magazine; I find comfort, inspiration, and newfound education every time I open one of their magazines. In fact, I talk about Bon Appétit so much that you would think this post was sponsored by the magazine (okay but really, that would be an actual dream. Hi, Bon Appétit if you are ever reading this!). But the truth is, my love for the magazine comes from how much my mom adored it, and the recipes inside that became part of our family’s many traditions over the years. The thing I cherish the most about these magazines are the marks of my mom woven into the pages; from the now-dried splashes of a sauce she was furiously whipping up that splattered onto the paper, to her handwritten notes in between each line of the recipe. These magazines not only hold delicious comfort foods that I grew up with, but they will always preserve a piece of her that I will hold on to for the rest of my life.
Below is a recipe I found for No-Knead Focaccia, published in one of the issues of Bon Appétit magazine that now sits on my shelf. I can’t take any credit for this recipe, other than adding fresh rosemary to it, but I wanted to share it because it’s a simple, fun, and rewarding recipe that even someone who’s never made bread before can master.
“A precursor of pizza, focaccia is one of Italy’s most ancient breads. It is thought to have originated with the Etruscans of North Central Italy, where the earliest forms of focaccia were unleavened flatbreads made from flour, water, and salt.”
– britannica
Rosemary Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 oz. Packet Active Dry Yeast (about 2.25 tsp)
- 2 tsp Honey
- 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 5 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (or 1 tbsp Morton Kosher Salt)
- 6 tbsp Extra Virgin 100% Italian Olive Oil (plus more to oil your hands prior to baking)
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter (plus 1-2 tbsp for baking dish)
- 5-6 sprigs Fresh Rosemary
- 1 pinch Fleur de Sel (or flaky sea salt)
Instructions
- Whisk active dry yeast, honey, and 2.5 cups lukewarm water until foamy in a medium bowl. Let sit for five minutes. Note: if your yeast doesn’t foam or get creamy, the yeast is dead and you should start again.
- After leaving yeast mixture to sit for five minutes, add flour and kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.
- Pour 4 tbsp olive oil into a large bowl that will fit in your refrigerator. Transfer dough to bowl and turn with your hands to coat in oil. Cover with a silicone lid or plastic wrap and chill until dough is doubled in size (it should look very bubbly and alive), at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. If you're in a rush, you can also let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, approximately 3–4 hours.
- Generously butter a 9×13" baking pan (for thicker focaccia that’s perfect for sandwiches) or a 13×18" rimmed baking sheet (for focaccia that's thinner, crispier, and great for snacking). Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into center of pan. Set aside.
- After dough has doubled in size, keep the dough in the bowl and, using a fork in each hand, gather up the edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process. Do this 2 more times; you want to deflate dough while you form it into a rough ball.
- Transfer dough to buttered pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over top and turn the dough to coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot (like near a radiator, on top of the fridge, or next to a preheating oven) until doubled in size, at least 1.5 hours and up to 4 hours.
- Place a rack in middle of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees. To see if the dough is ready, poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn’t ready. (If at this point the dough is ready to bake but you aren’t, you can chill it up to 1 hour).
- Lightly oil your hands with olive oil. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill, if needed. Dimple focaccia all over with your fingers, like you’re aggressively playing the piano, creating very deep depressions in the dough (reach your fingers all the way to the bottom of the pan).
- Drizzle with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over top and sprinkle with fleur de sel. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.
Watch my video on how to make this recipe by clicking here.
