Rosemary Focaccia Sandwiches

The other day I got the urge to bake some bread.

Yes, I do get the 'urge' to bake some bread.

I know I'm weird but ain't nothing I can do about it.

I LOVE baking bread.

My all time favorite bread to make and my go to when I get the itch is Focaccia.

I love making it and I love eating it.

And the kids love making it and eating it with me!

They love to watch the yeast take flight and do it's thing.

So after we made the dough and let it rise, I turned this..

Into This...

Rosemary Focaccia with caramelized onions, garlic, sun-dried

tomatoes and kalamata olives

(I put Asiago cheese on only half because I'm not eating dairy)

Into This..

Halibut Sandwich on a bed of spinach with roasted sweet potatoes and russet potatoes and roasted green beans.

And This..

Steak Sandwich

I'd say that's not bad for a Tuesday night dinner.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread:

1 pack active dry yeast

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

fresh ground black pepper

2 stems rosemary, chopped

3-4 cups flour, as needed

Cornmeal for dusting

Toppings:

About 10 Kalamata Olives, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 large onion, diced

5-6 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

Fresh grated Parmesan or any other hard cheese (Asiago, Romano, etc.) of your choice

Put the yeast in a bowl with the honey and water. Mix around then let the yeast do it's thing.

When the yeast becomes activated, slowly start adding the flour, 1/2 cup at a time.

After adding 1 cup of flour, add the salt, rosemary and olive oil.

Continue adding the rest of the flour and stop when the dough comes together into a ball without it being too sticky or too dry.

Coat the ball in some olive oil (to prevent a skin from forming) and loosely cover it with a (clean) kitchen towel and let rise 1-2 hours in a warm place (I put it in the microwave or the oven which are both OFF of course).

Coat a sheet pan with olive oil and cornmeal. Roll the dough out to the same shape as your pan (I use a baking sheet) to about 1/2 an inch thick and place your dough onto the pan.

Let it rise for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions and chop all your toppings.

Preheat your oven to about 450.

Uncover the dough and dimple it with your fingers to make indentations all throughout the dough without going all the way through. This will help the ingredients stick and is classic for focaccia bread.

Sprinkle the garlic all over the dough, then the caramelized onions, then the rest of the ingredients.

Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the dough is cooked through.

** The Focaccia Bread recipe is adapted from Tyler Florence's Fabulous Focaccia recipe you can find here.