Meyer Lemon Focaccia

Submitted by COOKGIRl

"Unusual but delicious! Recipe found on mostlyfoodstuffs.blogspot.com. To simplify the recipe, I cheated and used an automatic bread machine to prepare the dough. Remember to remove the seeds but not the peel. DO NOT use standard lemons."

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 2 loaves

ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 teaspoons coarse salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon sugar plus 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 1⁄2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus additional for handling the dough
• 2 small meyer lemons, sliced as thinly as possible (use a mandoline or very sharp knife to slice the lemons)
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary needles

directions

1. Add the water, active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and flour to the bread machine in order printed in your ABM manual. Set the ABM to the *DOUGH* setting and start.
2. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Remove dough from the pan and onto a floured surface .
4. Gently divide the dough into two balls and place them on the baking sheets.Let sit 10 minutes to relax.
5. With oiled or wet hands, use your fingertips to push the dough from the center out into 9” mishapened ovals, dimpling them with your fingertips (or the handle of a wooden spoon). Note from cg: I use a rolling pin to gently flatten the dough. I don't know if that is the correct or ideal way but it works for me. Also, don't worry if the dough is not perfectly oval shaped.
6. Let dough rise for about 30-45 minutes covered in a warm spot. (With our range, first I turned the oven on to 170 degrees, brought to temperature and immediately turned off the oven. Then I switched on the PROOFING feature and the oven light to let the dough rise.).
7. After allowing the dough to rise, remove from oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
8. Gently toss the lemon slices with 2 teaspoons of sugar.
9. When the dough has risen, divide and arrange the Meyer lemon slices over the top, and drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil (1 tablespoon each loaf). Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coarse salt on each loaf. Garnish with the rosemary needles.
10. Place the baking sheets in the oven, then reduce the heat to 450 degrees.
11. Bake approximately 20 minutes, until the focaccia has cooked to a golden brown.