Focaccia Anyone?

I have been wanting to make some focaccia for a while now and I finally got around to doing that this past weekend. I found this recipe from Epicurious.com. The recipe makes two 9x13 focaccia but I only made one, so I only used 1/2 the ingredients. I made the Parmesan Focaccia to go with our Flank Steak dinner.


Thyme Focaccia and Parmesan Focaccia


Ingredients:
Two 1/4-ounce packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups warm water (105°‐115° F.)
1 tablespoon table salt
about 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan
coarse salt for sprinkling
freshly ground black pepper for sprinkling


Instructions:
In a standing electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment beat together yeast, sugar, and water and let stand 5 minutes, or until foamy. In a bowl stir together table salt and 5 cups flour. Stir oil into yeast mixture. With motor on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to yeast mixture. With dough hook knead dough 2 minutes, or until soft and slightly sticky.
Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead in enough remaining flour to form a soft but not sticky dough. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Knead thyme into one half and knead plain half 1 minute. Form each half into an oval and invert bowl over them. Let dough rest 5 minutes for easier rolling.
Preheat oven to 450° F.
Oil two 13- by 9-inch baking pans and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. On lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough halves into 13- by 9-inch rectangles and fit into pans. Cover each pan with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle plain dough with Parmesan and sprinkle both doughs with coarse salt and pepper. With lightly oiled fingertips make indentations, about 1/2 inch deep and 1 inch apart, all over dough rectangles and bake in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until golden. Remove focaccia from pans and cool on racks.

Coming up next: Roast beef sandwich on Focaccia