Rosemary, Lemon, and Pepper Focaccia

GaylaJ's Note:

An incredible bread! Using lemons on a focaccia seemed so unusual to me, I just had to try it--absolutely loved it! All these flavors play together so nicely. Recipe adapted from "A New Way to Cook", by Sally Schneider. I use Peter Reinhart's recipe for pizza dough, which I hope to post soon.

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 lb pizza dough
• 1 tablespoon fruity extra virgin olive oil (I used quite a bit more)
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 lemon , scrubbed and dried
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese (or 1/2 teaspoon flake sea salt or kosher salt)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F thirty minutes before baking, and place a baking stone, baking tiles, an inverted large cast-iron skillet or griddle, or a heavy baking sheet in oven to heat (I use a baking stone).
2. Flour the work surface lightly and roll the dough into a rough circle 11 inches in diameter. Place a sheet of parchment paper roughly the size of the dough on a baker's peel (this is what I use), inverted baking sheet, or a rimless cookie sheet. Transfer dough to the parchment; reshape with your fingers.
3. Prick the dough with a fork and brush lightly with some of the olive oil. Grind pepper over it and sprinkle evenly with the rosemary. Cut the lemon in half lengthwise through the stem (reserve other half for another use), then slice crosswise as thinly as you can; remove any seeds. Arrange lemon slices evenly over the dough and brush them lightly with olive oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for 15 minutes.
4. Slide the focaccia, still on the parchment, onto the hot stone. Bake until the crust is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Brush with remaining oil and sprinkle with the cheese or salt. Cut into wedges and serve at once.

Reviews

[iris5555]

This was superb. I too used quite a bit more olive oil and used both salt and parmesan. The lemon slices add such a unique flavor--I found that those slices I was successful in cutting paper thin were less bitter than the thicker ones.