Tomato Olive Focaccia

I might be the only person on the planet that really enjoys taking down my Christmas decorations.  I like living amongst all the glitter and garland and Christmas trees while the holiday music is playing but somehow on the 26th of December, it all just looks like untidy clutter to me.  🎄 The first free day that I get after Christmas, I throw myself into hyper-speed to get all of the fairy lights and nativity scenes tucked away into their containers where they'll spend the next 11 months. 

I'm not going all Hobby Lobby and replacing my Christmas wreaths with pink hearts for Valentine's Day, but I do love to get the Christmas decorations packed up and the house de-cluttered.  My house isn't the only thing that gets a clean out at the start of a new year though.  I do a thorough yearly examination of my blog que as well.  It's not unusual for me to have 40 and 50 recipes in my que at one time.  Recipes that I intend to make in the near future.  Near being the operative word.  I found a recipe in my que from 2017!  😬

That sounds crazy but the recipe is actually for Prime Rib.  Apparently, I've had no occasions to prepare a prime rib in the last three years.  When I find recipes online or in my cooking magazines, I add them to the que and then wait for the perfect opportunity to try them out.  Still waiting on that Prime Rib kind of day!  🥩

This tomato olive focaccia recipe hasn't been in my que very long but when my brother gave me a package of olives that he brought home from his travels to Greece - I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.  FOCACCIA!  The Greek olives are amazing and the best way that I could think of to highlight them is on top of some delicious homemade bread.  

Tomato Olive Focaccia
3 2/3 cups bread flour
5 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups room temperature water
8 Tablespoons olive oil
3  1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved and seeded
1 cup Castelvetrano olives, halved and pitted
1 teaspoon oregano
3/4 teaspoon black pepper

Combine flour, yeast and sugar in bowl of standing mixer. 

Drizzle in water while mixer is running and beat for 5 minutes.

Cover bowl and let rest 10 minutes.  Spread 2 T. oil in large bowl.  

Sprinkle 2 t. salt over dough and knead for 5 minutes. 

Scrape dough into oiled bowl.  

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 5-6 hours.  

Mist a 9x13" pan with pam.  Pour 2 T. oil in center.  

Pour dough in pan and allow to spread without pulling or stretching. ​

Scatter olives and tomatoes over dough.  Let stand for 20 minutes. 

Brush tomatoes with 4 T. oil.  Sprinkle focaccia with oregano, 1 1/2 t. salt and pepper. 

Bake 20-22 minutes in a 500 degree oven.  Cool 5 minutes on wire rack. 

Remove from pan with metal spatula.  Cool 30 minutes before serving. 

This bread rose for way longer than 5-6 hours.  A quick trip to the mall turned into a puppy holding, ice cream eating, lunch out, shoe shopping, jean buying, trip to the grocery store excursion that lasted 7 hours.  Soooo... my dough had risen and then fallen and I was a little worried about it.  Lucky for me.  It baked up just beautifully.  I hope you'll give this one a try.  

Ciao!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe