Get ready for this Round Focaccia Cake with Olives & Capers. Watch the video here.
There is no doubt that baking is an evergreen activity. But in the winter months of New England, there is an extra incentive to bake, especially on snow days.
I love baking because it reminds me that there is a world beyond social media, tech gadgets, materialism, and fancy brands. Baking comes from the hands, the oven, the heart, and the soul.
It’s so simple, and we must not forget how lucky we are when we actually have time to bake. The luxury of time! Time to bake bread, for example. To bake focaccia. I love focaccia! It’s a sign of health, energy, and life. Life in the kitchen! I hope to do lots of cooking and baking in 2023.
Winter Baking
There are tons of focaccia recipes out there. Traditionally, focaccia is baked in a rectangular shape, flat and short, like the one featured on this website. This version has a little twist. The Round Focaccia Cake with Olives & Capers is baked in a cast iron pan (12 inches diameter). In traditional focaccia, there is a brine of salt and water. I prepared an olive oil sauce with olives, capers, rosemary, thyme, and lemon zest for this version.
This Round Focaccia Cake with Olives & Capers makes for a gorgeous homemade gift that will impress family, friends, or anyone who receives it.
While this post is being published in January, Christmas songs are still playing, and decorations linger until at least mid-January. This gives us almost two full months of holiday spirit, music, and baking.
The weeks around Thanksgiving are the official start of the holiday season. At every store you go to, a Christmas playlist is on the radio. Mariah Carrey continues to rank number one with her top All I Want For Christmas Is You. Released in 1994, this song alone brings the singer around US$ 3 million per year in royalties (Source: New York Post). “In December 2019, it was reported by The Economist the song had earned Mariah over $60 million in total at that point. (Source here).
But I will never forget the early days of Mariah Carey when a young, charming, and gorgeous singer conquered the world with her high notes and danceable songs. Maria Carey was sincere and genuine. She used to sing from the heart, and I was madly in love with all her songs.
In this video, I brought an oldie from Mariah, Make it Happen, to celebrate a song that marked my teen years, when Mariah used her naturally curly hair, jeans, and leather jacket. She needed nothing else besides her voice to make the world fall in love with her. Make it Happen is a classic; the lyrics still resonate with the sign of the times— and with this Round Focaccia Cake with Olives & Capers.
Make it Happen!
Round Focaccia Cake with Olives & Capers
Watch VIDEO
Makes 1 large focaccia, serving 16-18 people
For the Dough:
2½ cups (600g) lukewarm water
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
5 1/3 cups (800g) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
¼ cup (50g) extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Flaky salt for finishing
For the Olive Topping:
½ cup EVOO, plus more to grease the pan
¼ cup kalamata olives pitted and quartered
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon pepper
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon pink salt
Equipment: 12-inch diameter cast iron skillet
Procedure
- In a medium bowl, stir together water, yeast, and honey to dissolve.
- In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with chopped rosemary and thyme.
- In a very large bowl, whisk flour and salt together to combine, and then add yeast mixture and olive oil. Stir with a rubber spatula until just incorporated then scrape into a floured surface and knead until it forms one round dough. Place inside a greased bowl and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Leave out at room temperature to ferment for 12 to 14 hours until at least doubled in volume.
- Use a spatula or your hand to release it from the sides of the bowl and knead it again on a floured surface into a round shape, the size of the cast iron pan. Spread 2 tablespoons oil evenly onto a cast iron pan. Gently stretch the dough to the edge of the pan by placing your hands underneath and pulling outward. Leave at room temperature to proof inside the pan for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.
- Dimple the dough by pressing the pads of your first three fingers in at an angle. Make the olive oil sauce by stirring together all the ingredients. Pour the sauce over the dough to fill the dimples.
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
- Sprinkle focaccia with flaky salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the bottom crust is crisp and golden brown when checked with a metal spatula.
- Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes inside the pan, then release focaccia from pan with a metal spatula and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. To store, wrap in parchment paper and keep in an airtight bag or container to preserve texture.
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