Bread Baking for Beginners: No-Knead Focaccia Bread

With the sun getting lower in the sky and the chill of autumn creeping upon us, I finally decided to wake my oven from its summer-long slumber to bake some bread. Given that its been about six months since Ive done any baking, I decided to start with something simple and familiar. Focaccia is a great beginner bread because its fun to shape, can be topped with almost anything, and involves a one step baking process unlike some breads (such as bagels or baguettes). As with most breads that come out of my oven, I like starting with a no-knead dough, because as the name implies, it does not require kneading. Aversion to physical exertion aside, no-knead doughs have a couple of other advantages. Since they rely on longer rising times for the formation of gluten bonds, they tend to use only a small quantity of yeast. This means youll be able to store the dough a lot longer before the alcohol created in the fermentation process kills off the yeast. Kept in the fridge, it should last for nearly a week, so you can have fresh baked bread any night of the week. I also find that starting with a smaller amount of yeast makes the bread taste less yeasty, allowing the wonderful nutty flavor of the flour to shine through. Since flour is easily compacted while being scooped into a measuring cup, the amount of flour in one cup can vary wildly, depending on how you scoop and even the shape of your measuring cup. Using weight, rather than volume measures, for flour prevents doughs that are too wet or too dry. This is why I tend to use weight measures for flour in baked goods. With compact digital kitchen scales available for around ten bucks, there's really no reason why any cook shouldnt have one in their kitchen. For this batch I made a Middle Eastern spice blend called Zaatar that I sprinkled on top. I love the way the nutty sesame, the citrusy sumac and fragrant oregano and thyme dance around in my mouth, but if you want something more traditional, rosemary and olives, or Asiago and onions make wonderful toppings for focaccia.

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Marc Matsumoto is a culinary consultant and recipe repairman who shares his passion for good food through his website norecipes.com. For Marc, food is a life long journey of exploration, discovery and experimentation and he shares his escapades through his blog in the hopes that he inspires others to find their own culinary adventures. Marcs been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, and has made multiple appearances on NPR and the Food Network.