Fabulous Gluten-Free Focaccia

Celiac.com 01/28/2023 - Focaccia is the “in” bread these days! It is a cross between pizza and Italian flatbread and is served in many Italian restaurants, along with a plate of extra-virgin olive oil for dipping. Sometimes, the server adds a dash of balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of dried Italian herbs for a real taste treat.

You can recreate this wonderful bread at home with this easy recipe, using my new versatile sorghum flour blend. Sorghum is a nutritious flour that works beautifully in our gluten-free foods. Focaccia is undoubtedly one of my most popular recipes and I know it will become a favorite at your house, too.

Carol Fenster’s Gluten-Free Sorghum Flour Blend

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
Use this versatile flour blend for the recipes in Gluten-Free 101: Easy, Basic Dishes without Wheat. You can make your own corn flour (not cornstarch) by grinding cornmeal in a small coffee grinder until it is the consistency of flour.

If you prefer almond flour, you’ll find it at Bob’s Red mill (www.bobsredmill.com) or grind blanched almond silvers in the coffee grinder until it reaches a flour-like texture. You can purchase bean flour (either plain garbanzo or a garbanzo/fava blend) at your local health food store.

Note: If you use almond flour, you must refrigerate the flour blend.

*Makes 4.5 cups

• 1 1⁄2 cups sorghum flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups potato starch or 
• cornstarch
• 1 cup tapioca flour
• 1⁄2 cup corn flour or almond 
• flour or bean flour or chestnut flour

Carol Fenster’s Focaccia Bread

Bread Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄2 tsp. dry yeast
• 1 1⁄2 cups Flour Blend (pg. 15)
• 1 1⁄2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin 
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1⁄2 tsp. onion powder
• 3⁄4 tsp. salt
• 3⁄4 cup warm water (110°)
• 1 tsp. sugar 
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1⁄2 tsp. cider vinegar

Topping

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1⁄4 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1⁄4 tsp. kosher or coarse sea salt

1) Combine all bread ingredients in mixing bowl. Beat dough with mixer (regular beaters, not dough hooks) for 2 minutes. Dough will be soft and sticky.

2) Transfer dough to greased 11 x 7-inch nonstick pan. Cover with aluminum foil tent and let rise in warm place (75-80º) for 30-40 minutes or until desired height.

3) Preheat oven to 400 º. Sprinkle dough with topping ingredients. Bake 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown and crisp when tapped with your fingernail. (A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese is optional.) Serves 10.

Additional Focaccia Toppings

Try these variations for an even more flavorful Focaccia:

Herb Focaccia:

Combine 1⁄2 tsp. each dried rosemary, sage, and thyme, 1⁄4 tsp. black pepper, and 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over bread before baking.

Sun-Dried Tomato & Olive Focaccia:

Sauté 1⁄4 cup minced sun-dried tomatoes, 1⁄4 cup sliced black olives, and 1⁄4 cup chopped onion in 1 tsp. oil. Sprinkle over bread before baking.

Pesto Focaccia:

Purée in food processor just until smooth, leaving bit of texture: 1 cup fresh basil leaves, 1 garlic clove, 1⁄2 cup pine nuts. With motor running, slowly add 1⁄4 cup olive oil through feed tube. Add 1⁄4 cup Parmesan cheese and dash of black pepper. Spread over bread before baking.

Recipes Reprinted from the new Gluten-Free 101: Easy, Basic Dishes without Wheat, 2003 by Carol Fenster, Ph.D. with permission from Savory Palate Press.