Garlic Rosemary Olive Focaccia

This is something which I've not attempted before. I've tasted this for the first time in one of the Italian restaurants in Milan.  Focaccia, which I tasted there, was soft, wonderfully chewy with a golden top, smelling garlic infused olive oil, and topped with rosemary and olives.

I wanted to make exactly the same one. When I was discussing this with one of my Italian friends, to my surprise, she had given me a wonderful recipe of focaccia.

Focaccia is an Italian flat bread which is made with pizza dough. Regular focaccia is usually seasoned with olive oil and salt but this can be always customized with garlic, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, favorite herbs etc.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, extra for dusting

1 tsp dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 cloves thinly sliced garlic

10-12 black or green olives, halved

1 cup warm water

Method

• Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large bowl.  Let it sit for 5 minutes.
• Add flour, salt and combine well (dough will be sticky). Knead dough on floured surface until smooth and elastic. 
• Form dough into a ball. Place dough in large bowl coated with oil.
• Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rise in warm area until doubled, takes about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down the dough, knead into a ball again and return to same bowl. Cover with cloth and let rise in warm area until doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Coat a baking sheet with oil. Punch down the dough and transfer it on to the baking sheet.
• Using the finger tips, spread the dough on to the baking sheet evenly. Drizzle oil on the the dough and sprinkle olives, sliced garlic, chopped rosemary evenly. Let it rise for 30 min. 
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Make indentations on the dough using your fingertips. Bake it for 20 min until it is golden and crusty.
• Serve warm or at room temperature with a warmer love.