The Focaccia Chronicles; Quarantine Kitchen

Mix the flour, water, oil, yeast and salt together

So on my last flight from New York to San Diego, I binge-watched episodes of the Great British Baking Show, and two episodes of the Netflix series Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.  The Fat episode takes place in Italy, and the focaccia that host Samin Nosrat made in Liguria intrigued me.  Focaccia is something I love, but frankly, knowing the time it takes with a long slow rise, coupled with the fact I'm not a baker, I don't make it at home.  But, that has all changed since we have been in self-isolation.  So the fact that I have lots of time, and the ingredients and that dinner at my Italian friends' house on Saturday night included some of the best focaccia I'd ever had, I knew that I wanted to give it a try. 
The recipe is here.  This is really simple to make. It requires an overnight rise, and then a bit of fiddling to get it into the pan.  Other than that it's pretty much a no-brainer.  Make sure to use a high-quality olive oil, I use the organic from Cuore Verde which you can buy from Enoteca Properzio.  And, use a flaky sea salt like Maldon for the finishing. 
Without further ado, here are the focaccia chronicles of days 4 and 5. 

3 hours in

Good Morning!

Rub the pan with olive oil (I used foil on the pan for ease of cleanup--my sheet pans are a mess)

Scrape onto the oiled pan

Add caption

pour oil over the dough

spread the dough over the pan

Make indentations in the dough with your knuckles

pour the brine over the dough

 

sprinkle with salt and I used some rosemary

Really hot oven

Finally!

As many of you know, here in California, we have been advised to stay home, and not go out.  I'd ask you to heed all the warnings from your state officials and the health officials at CDC and NIH.  If they say don't go out, don't do it.  Your health and the health of those that you come in contact with are paramount at this time.  Stay well everyone, and keep on cooking.