Focaccia

Just made this recipe out of Rosario Buonassisi's "Pizza: From its Italian Origins to the Modern Table" and it's pretty good. It takes awhile because you have to let the dough rise multiple times but it's a simple recipe. It's also called Pizza Bianca or White Pizza. Best served right out of the oven as it gets harder afterwards, but still good. Here's the recipe

Makes 2 crusts 15 by 10 inch (40x25cm), serving up to 12 as appetizer

pinch granulated sugar
1 pkg or 2.5 tsp/12 mL active dry yeast
2 tsp/10mL salt
2tsp/10 mL granulated sugar
1 C/250mL lukewarm milk
6-7 C/1.5-1.75L flour
olive oil
coarse salt
rosemary or sage, a few small leaves (optional)

Warm a large mixing bowl with hot tap water; drain. In warmed bowl, dissolve pinch of sugar in half cup (125mL) lukewarm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand 10 min or until frothy. To the yeast mixture add the salt, sugar, lukewarm milk, and 1 C lukewarm water. Stir in flour, 1 C at a time, until a soft dough forms.

On a lightly floured surface knead dough for 5 min or until smooth and elastic, adding enough flour to keep from sticking. Rinse clean the mixing bowl and dry. Swirl a little olive oil over the surface of the bowl. Add dough and turn it over once or twice until it is covered with a thin film of oil. Cover with plastic wrap, then a clean dish towel [I didn't use plastic myself because it seemed wasteful, and it turned out fine]. Let rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

At that time, punch it down, replace plastic, and let rise for another hour. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces [I halved the recipe and had a rather large baking sheet nearly filled so keep this in mind when beginning the recipe]. Work each into the shape of a rectangle. The dough must be flattened until it reaches a thickness of about 3/4 in (2 cm). Place on prepared baking sheets. Loosely cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place for 45 min.

Preheat oven to 450 F or 230 C. Make indentations with your finger across the dough. Brush generously with olive oil and sprinkle coarse salt and sage or rosemary if you wish, and place in middle rack for 30 min or until golden brown, tending towards white where oil has protected the surface from the heat.