Rosemary Focaccia Sandwich Bread

I woke up on Friday morning thinking about fresh rosemary bread. I had been indulging in my favorite past time...reading cookbooks, and stumbled on an amazing recipe for Rosemary Focaccia that I dreamed about all night. Literally dreamed about bread. Do I have a problem or what? So I checked the recipe in "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison, which I took out from my local library. I was so excited to see that I had all the ingredients to make it, thanks to the pot of rosemary that is growing out of control on the south side of my house.

When I turned on my oven to preheat, I thought I smelled my fireplace burning again (this has happened a couple times now), so I looked for the smell and couldn't find anything. When I thought the oven should be heated up, I came back and noticed the clock on the stove wasn't on. I opened the oven and the light didn't come on. I went downstairs and flipped the circult breaker. Nope, that wasn't it, either. So I grabbed a screwdriver and took apart the back of the stove, only to find this:

Yep, whatever that piece is called (I looked it up, it's a "terminal block") was all melted. There was an electrical fire in the back of my oven. Crap. No bread for me today. For most people, a broken oven is cause for celebration, as in "Yay,I can't cook, let's go out!". For a foodie like me it was a huge tragedy... Then my awesome neighbor came to the rescue. The next morning (after an extra slow rise in the refrigerater overnight), I baked my pan of bread next door. It seems like a mean trick...I made their house smell like amazing fresh rosemary bread, then I took the bread home with me. I did share about a third of the pan with them later, so I paid them back.

Sandwich Focaccia with Rosemary
2 c. warm water
1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 t. sugar
3 T. Olive oil, plus extra for the top
1 1/2 t. salt
3 T. finely minced rosemary
6 c. all purpose flour

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and set aside until foamy.

After about 10 minutes, in a large mixing bowl, combine yeast mixture, olive oil, salt, 2 T. rosemary and 1 cup of flour. Wisk together until smooth. Slowly add the remaining flour, until too hard to stir, then turn out onto counter and knead until all the flour is worked in and the dough is smooth. Place it in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Oil a large sheet pan. Place the dough in the pan and press out to the edges with your fingers, making sure it is all the same thickness. Cover and let rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 during the last 15 minutes. Right before putting in the oven, dimple the dough by poking it with your fingertips, then brush it with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining rosemary. Bake in the bottom third of the oven until evenly browned, about 30 minutes.

After allowing to cool most of the way, I cut 4 squares of the bread through the middle crosswise to make sandwich bread for lunch on Saturday. It was fresh bread, so it was delicious, of course. I put the rest in the freezer and I know someday soon it will go well with another meal. I cannot wait to try it warmed and dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar!

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison.