Potato Focaccia
Greetings Food Adventurers! Today we are visiting with some Aes Sedai of the Brown Ajah at the White Tower, where they are sharing a beautifully fluffy Potato Focaccia with us. (pronounced foh-CAH-tcha) Our visiting spot is a courtyard near one of the kitchens, with small hedges of rosemary and one corner set aside as an herb garden. Some of the Brown Sisters are very much into both gardening and food. This garden courtyard is a perfect spot for snacks and a bit of digging in the dirt. The One Power is great for a lot of things but there’s nothing like some good old-fashioned weeding to soothe the soul.
A traveler has recently gifted the Aes Sedai some jars of fancy olives from Ebou Dar, which make a perfect focaccia topping. The Brown Sisters are known for helping people with various research and anything that is likely to be found in a dusty book, and their favorite gifts / payments tend to be harder to find and flavorful foods. Maybe that’s an ingredient, maybe a new recipe. We are happy to share some recipes with them in exchange for this one. We are quickly warned that the bread is a bit oily on the outside (since it’s baked in oil) so under no circumstances are we allowed to touch their precious books until we’ve washed our hands. (That’s fair.)
One of the white tower novices had a channeling mishap this morning so the herbs that were supposed to be on top of the focaccia went missing. It’s still amazing. The toppings are very flexible – if you don’t like olives or bell peppers, or accidentally turn all your parsley into butterflies, just try something else!
Focaccia is a flat bread but not a flatbread. It uses yeast for rising. It is a very wet dough which creates lots of chewy bubbles for a distinctive texture. If you want to take time to create veggie art on the top before baking it, this is the bread to do that on. Be sure to press the veggies into the bread a bit, as they may be shifted around a bit when the bread rises in the oven.
This is best fresh or eaten within one day, so invite some friends over!
This recipe is adapted from “Milk Street: The New Home Cooking” by Christopher Kimball and inspired by Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.
Potato Focaccia
Special Equipment
- Cooking thermometer
- Potato masher
- Plastic wrap
- 9×13 METAL baking pan or a rimmed large metal cookie sheet (do not use a glass pan; the bottom will not brown correctly)
- Silicone spatula
- Stand mixer (optional but recommended)
- Cooling rack (optional but recommended)
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 8 oz Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 3/4″ pieces (about 2-3 potatoes). (No need to peel)
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme
- 3 garlic cloves smashed
- 3 ½ tsp kosher salt DIVIDED
- 3 cups bread flour (468 grams)
- 4 Tbsp olive oil DIVIDED, plus extra
- 2 tsp yeast (instant or regular, either works)
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
Toppings:
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs in addition to the sprigs used above; use whatever herbs you like
- â…” cup Kalamata olives pitted and finely chopped (pimiento-stuffed green olives can be used as an alternate)
- 1 ½ oz Parmesan cheese grated (about 3/4 cup) (get the good stuff!) (omit for dairy-free / vegan)
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced or diced (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the water, diced potatoes, herb sprigs, smashed garlic cloves, and 2 tsp kosher salt.
- Bring the pot's contents to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 12-14 minutes until potatoes are tender.
- Put a colander into a METAL bowl and drain the potatoes into this. RESERVE THE COOKING LIQUID. (handle the bowl with potholders, it will be HOT)
- Discard the herb sprigs. Return the potatoes, garlic, and any loose herb leaves to the pan.
- Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until smooth, or put the potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer and use the mixing paddle to mash them.
- Transfer the mashed potatoes to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- Let the cooking liquid cool for about 20 minutes until it is just barely warm (no higher than 115 degrees F). MEANWHILE, oil a large bowl and set aside.
- Add to the stand mixer bowl: flour, 2 Tbsp oil, yeast, sugar, remaining 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1 1/4 cups of the cooled cooking water.
- Mix on LOW speed for about 1 minute, until the dough comes together.
- Increase to medium-high and mix until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes, adding more cooking liquid 1 Tbsp at a time as needed. (dough will be very soft and sticky – this is a wet dough, not like normal bread dough). Any remaining cooking liquid can be discarded at this point.
- Use an oiled silicone spatula to transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm draft-free area until puffed but not quite doubled, 30 to 60 minutes.
- Spread the remaining 2 Tbsp oil over the bottom and sides of a 9×13" METAL baking pan or larger rimmed baking sheet.
- Transfer the dough to the pan and use oiled fingers to spread into an even layer if in a 9×13″ pan (pressing into the corners) or into a 9×13″ rectangle if using a rimmed baking sheet.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm draft-free area until puffed, 30 to 60 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 400 F with a rack in the middle position.
- Dip a finger in olive oil, and use that finger to poke the dough all over to give it the classic focaccia look. Poke the hole all the way through to the bottom then widen it a bit; the holes will want to close up very quickly so make them a little larger than you think they should be.
- Sprinkle the dough with the chopped herbs, olives, Parmesan, and red bell pepper. (omit the Parmesan for a dairy-free version)
- Bake until the edges are browned and crisp and the top is golden, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a baking rack.
