Jill's Focaccia

This is bread machine focaccia at its laziest and best. The entire recipe is a single instruction: “Toss ingredients into bread machine and press start." If you have a bread machine and want serious Italian flavor with under 10 minutes of hands-on work, this is the recipe.

The ingredient list does the heavy work. Garlic oil and olive oil go straight into the dough rather than getting brushed on top, so the entire bread is perfumed from the inside out. A blend of regular and Italian (00-style) flour gives the right balance of structure and tender chew.

Kalamata olives, pine nuts, and strips of roasted red bell pepper add savory pops throughout the loaf. The Italian seasoning and dried basil layer on Mediterranean herbal complexity that complements the olives without overwhelming them.

Malt powder is the unexpected addition. Just a quarter teaspoon feeds the yeast for more vigorous fermentation and gives the crust a deeper malty color and flavor.

Serve warm, torn into chunks, alongside soup, salad, or a simple antipasto plate.

Pro Tips

• Add olives, pine nuts, and peppers at the add-ins beep if your machine has one. Loading too early can cause them to break down during kneading.
• Use pitted kalamatas, not whole. Pits will damage your bread machine paddle and break teeth.
• Pat the roasted peppers dry before adding. Excess moisture throws off the dough hydration.
• Toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet for 2 minutes before adding for deeper nutty flavor.

Variations

• Sub sundried tomatoes for the roasted peppers for a more concentrated tomato hit.
• Add a tablespoon of fresh rosemary for a classic Tuscan focaccia profile.
• Use mixed olives (kalamatas plus castelvetrano) for a more complex briny character.