Tapenade goes well with focaccia bread.
Rosemary focaccia is a popular variation on focaccia, a rich, relatively flat bread associated with Italian cuisine. Focaccia has been enjoyed in Italy for centuries and is considered by many to be a precursor to modern pizza. With its fragrant aroma and spicy flavor, rosemary focaccia is a slight variation on traditional focaccia recipes that can be used to make sandwiches or simply enjoyed on its own. Making rosemary focaccia involves preparing a simple dough that is then enriched with olive oil and topped with sprigs of fresh or dried rosemary.
Brushing the focaccia with olive oil before putting it in the oven brings out the rich flavors of this flatbread.
Traditional focaccia can be considered a bread of contradictions: it is both flat and airy, soft and crispy, simple and rich. It has been a common part of Italian cooking for centuries, although some food historians believe its origins may date back to the time of the ancient Greeks. Due to the fact that traditional focaccia consists of only a few relatively inexpensive ingredients, namely flour, water, salt and a small amount of yeast, it was once considered a food for the poor. In the 21st century, however, focaccia is widely enjoyed as a simple but satisfying form of bread, with bakeries, restaurants, and home cooks in Italy and abroad serving both traditional and adapted versions. Many even herald it as a forerunner of modern pizza.
Bakeries often offer rosemary foccacia.
One of the most popular variations on traditional focaccia is rosemary focaccia. This bread looks a lot like the original, except its surface is dotted with sprigs of fresh or dried rosemary that have been pressed into the dough before baking. While the addition of rosemary may seem like just a little twist on the traditional focaccia recipe, the herbs imbue the finished bread with a very fragrant aroma and tangy flavor. Rosemary Focaccia can be drizzled with tapenade or other sauces, used to make sandwiches, or simply enjoyed as is. Some cooks choose to top rosemary focaccia with additional toppings like red onion, though purists argue that adding too many toppings pushes the bread into pizza territory.
Making rosemary focaccia consists of preparing a simple dough of water, flour, yeast and salt. To create a crisp bottom and rich flavor, some cooks place this dough on a baking sheet with a coating of olive oil. After the dough is placed in the mold and proofed, sprigs of rosemary are pressed onto its surface. Often the dough is greased with oil and sprinkled with sea salt. Finally, it is roasted, cooled and enjoyed.