This Dame Cooks A Collection of Recipes from Alaska to the South Pacific and Caribbean

 This truly is quick and easy focaccia you can make before dinner.   Just mix everything in the food processor, push it into a flat pan and proof it for 1 hour and bake.  No-kneading required!!  This is my kind of fresh bread.

Not only does this recipe make superb focaccia it makes the best bread sticks to go with soup or serve with a marinara sauce.  The variations of toppings are as numerous as pizza toppings.  You could even make this into a sweet version with cinnamon and sugar or jam.

Make an extra batch to freeze for last minute meals or when friends drop by.   The dry ingredients can be packaged with the recipe in a gift basket including your favorite homemade marinara sauce, pasta, wine and chocolate truffles or espresso beans.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp instant dry-active yeast  (2 pkg Red Star or Fleischmans)
• pinch of sugar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (more for bottom of pan and top of dough)
• 1-1/2 cups luke-warm water
• Fresh or dry herbs, cheeses or other condiments as desired

Method:

1.  Grease a 9X13-inch sheet pan and drizzled with 1 or 2 Tbsp olive oil.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your food processor.  Whirl on low speed and add olive oil then all the water at once.  Whirl until a ball of dough spins around the bowl and there is no flour clinging to the sides of the bowl.
3. Continue to whirl dough for 1 minute.  Dough should be soft and slightly sticky.  If its too sticky add 1 Tbsp of flour and whirl until incorporated.  If its too firm add 1 Tbsp of water at a time and whirl until water is incorporated and dough is soft.  (At this point you can add cubes of cheese and herbs if desired.)
4. Remove dough from food processor and press into the prepared pan.  Cover with a plastic bag or floured towel and let rise for 60 minutes or until it’s puffy.
5. Preheat oven to 375° F.
6. When dough is puffy make dimples in the dough with your fingers.  Drizzle the top of the dough with a little olive oil and sprinkle with fresh or dry herbs, oven-roasted tomatoes, black olives, parmigiana cheese or other toppings as desired.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Let pan cool for 5 minutes and remove bread to a cooling rack.