Cheesy Focaccia with Caramelized Onions and Sautéed Spinach

Well, this was amazing. I do a fair amount of bread baking, and Sunday night pizza is a frequent occurrence at our house. I find it’s a really great dish to make when you’re trying to accommodate a vegetarian and an omnivorous diner. I can load mine up with veggies, and the husband can add as much pepperoni as he likes. So I was really excited about this week’s recipe-Cheesy Focaccia with Caramelized Onions and Sautéed Spinach. 

This was fairly easy, though it did require committing to a few hours of being near the kitchen for occasional tending to your dough’s wants and needs. That attention is part of why I love making bread, there is something really cozy about planning a whole afternoon around what you’re making for dinner. Flour, water, salt and yeast are kneaded together for a short amount of time, until the dough starts to pull away from the side of the mixing bowl. For a good idea of what that looks like, check out this King Arthur Flour Focaccia recipe. Their post has some great step by step photos. I did add a few extra tablespoons of flour as suggested in the recipe, and it seemed to be ready after about 8 minutes. After kneading, I did some dough origami, and then let it rest for half an hour. More origami, and rest, for a total of three iterations, before I pressed the dough into a pan. Meanwhile I started preparing the toppings, letting some onions cook in a dutch oven for about a half hour, followed by wilting some spinach. When the dough was ready it was brushed with herbs and olive oil, and then baked for ten minutes at 450. In my case it needed to cook for a bit longer, to allow the crust to reach a nice golden color. Then I layered on the cheese and vegetables, and let it cook for another 7 minutes until melted. The only change I made was to add a touch of garlic salt. We also ate it with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.

This made for a fantastic dinner. Though the recipe encouraged playing around with the toppings, I think this would be amazing plain with a dusting of sea salt, sliced into rectangles to dip in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  This made a very large focaccia,  my husband came in when it was done and asked “So how many people are we feeding?” It would be a great dinner party recipe, especially if your guests can hang out with you in your kitchen. The toppings could easily be made ahead of time. I would love to make this one again. Have a great week!