Olive Rosemary Feta Pistachio Focaccia

Chef challenge - I had feta that I wanted to use up. Hmm, and plenty of rosemary in the garden. So add in some olives from the refrigerator, and I could make Olive Rosemary Feta Focaccia.

Ingredients:

500 grams (17 1/2 ounces, about 3 1/4 cups) all-purpose or bread flour
15 grams (.5 ounces, about 1 tablespoon) kosher salt
4 grams (.15 ounces, about 1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast
325 grams (11 1/2 ounces, about 1 1/2 cups minus 1 tablespoon) water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 ounces pitted green olives, diced
1/4 cup roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, very roughly chopped
Kosher salt
black pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine flour, salt, yeast, and water in a stsnd mixer until no dry flour remains. The bowl should be at least 4 to 6 times the volume of the dough to allow for rising.

2. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure that edges are well-sealed, then let rest on the countertop for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Dough should rise dramatically and fill bowl.

3 Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, then transfer it to a floured work surface. Form dough into a tight ball by tucking edges of the dough underneath itself, rotating it until it forms a tight ball.

4. Pour half of oil in the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or deep dish pizza pan. Transfer dough to pan, turn to coat in oil. Press the dough to the edges of the pan, flattening it slightly and spreading oil around the entire bottom and edges of the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough stand at room temperature for 2 hours. (You should start pre-heating over to 550°F after about an hour of rising time.)

5. After 2 hours of rising, the dough should mostly fill the pan up to the edge. Use your fingertips to press it to fill to the pan walls, popping any large bubbles that appear. Lift up one edge of the dough to let any air bubbles underneath escape and repeat, moving around the dough until there are no air bubbles left underneath and the dough is evenly spread around the pan. Spread olives and pistachios over the surface of the dough and poke down on them with your fingertips to embed slightly. Drizzle dough with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary and coarse salt.

6. Transfer pan to oven and bake until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom is golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula, about 16 to 24 minutes. Using a thin spatula, loosen focaccia and peek underneath. If bottom is not as crisp as desired, place pan on a burner and cook over medium heat, moving the pan around to cook evenly until it is crisp, 1 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly, slice, and serve. As needed, you can reheat in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes before serving.

Carole's Notes:

This is very good - especially if you like olives, rosemary, feta, and pistachios like I do!