A Slice of Kenya
If you follow my Instagram account @byolivialam, you know that I went to Kenya back in October. It was the most amazing trip of my life, and it offered so much inspiration for future recipes. One thing I noticed is that every restaurant we ate at always gave us a complimentary bread basket. Nowadays, you don’t really get complimentary bread baskets here in the U.S., so it was always a nice surprise. They had the typical white and wheat rolls, but every now and then, there’d be a special bread that had different toppings or spices. Many of the dishes I had in Kenya also used a variety of spices and were so well seasoned. I couldn’t help but be inspired and came up with the idea to create this Turmeric Spiced Focaccia. It’s a slice of Kenya I can have at home!
Let’s Run It Back
This Turmeric Spiced Focaccia uses the same base focaccia recipe that I used for my Honey Fig and Gorgonzola Focaccia. So if you’ve made that recipe before, you already know this one’s going to be delicious! This recipe is adapted from Claire Saffitz Focaccia recipe which I found on A Hangry Hannah’s blog. It’s just too good to not use again!
We start with a typical dough recipe, combining yeast and water into a bowl. After the yeast has foamed and activated, we mix in the turmeric. It’s going to give the focaccia a beautiful, vibrant, yellow color. After multiple processes of kneading and rising, we’re ready to top it!
I wanted to used flavors and ingredients that were reminiscent of the food I ate in Kenya to bring me back. We top the focaccia with roasted garlic, tomatoes, red onion, feta, and a spiced olive oil. We can’t have a Turmeric Spiced Focaccia without spices, right? Garlic powder, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, coriander, and ground fennel seeds are mixed together with olive oil to create a delicious oil that infuses into the focaccia and toppings. When it’s all baked, its a delicious and savory bite of heaven! The bottom is crispy, the inside is fluffy, and the top has all those ingredients and flavors that’ll tingle your tastebuds.
Let’s Travel the World
This Turmeric Spiced Focaccia will always remind me of my trip to Kenya, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to travel there. Never underestimate how traveling can impact the way you think! After tasting and smelling all sorts of dishes, your mind puts these puzzle pieces together to create something entirely new and delicious. Try this recipe out and let me know what you think in the comments below!
Turmeric Spiced Focaccia
Ingredients
For the Focaccia Dough
- 1/2 cup Warm Water
- 1 package Active Dry Yeast
- 2 1/2 cups Room Temperature Water
- 6 cups Bread Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For the Toppings
- 1 Tbsp +1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (use 1/4 tsp if you want less heat)
- 1/4 tsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Ground Coriander
- 1/2 tsp Ground Fennel Seed
- 1 cup Halved or Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
- 3/4 cup Thinly Sliced Red Onion
- 1/2 cup Crumbled Feta
- 1 tsp Flakey Salt
- 1 tsp Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions
For the Focaccia Dough
- Add the warm water and active dry yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix to combine and let it sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
- Add the room temperature water, bread flour and turmeric, and kosher salt to the bowl. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together then increase the speed to medium high. Knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and wraps around the hook. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Start kneading the dough again on medium high speed until smooth and it starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl, about 10-15 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
- Pour 1/4 cup of the extra virgin olive in a large bowl. Coat the bottom and sides of the bowl with the olive oil. Use additional olive oil to coat your hands and a bench scraper. Use the bench scraper or your hands to scrape the dough out of the stand mixer and into the bowl of olive oil. Turn the dough over so that all sides are coated in olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow it to rise for 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
- Spread the remaining 1/4 cup of the extra virgin olive oil into a 10×16 inch baking sheet, making sure all sides are coated in oil. Use oiled hands to slide each hand under the sides of the dough and lift it up out of the bowl. Allow the weight of the dough to let itself fall back into the bowl. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and complete this step 2 more times.
- Transfer the dough to the greased baking sheet and stretch it out. The dough will retract and not fit the entire baking sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and stretch it out so that it fits the baking sheet. Place the plastic wrap back on top and let it rise for 40-55 minutes or 24 hours in the fridge overnight.
For the Toppings
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Remove the extra papery skin from the garlic bulb. Do not remove all of it, you want the garlic bulb to still be in tact. Slice off 1/4 inch from the top of the bulb so that you can just see the cloves. Place it on a sheet of foil then drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over top. Wrap up the foil so that the garlic is completely encased then bake it for 40-45 minutes until the cloves are soft and golden brown. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. When the garlic has cooled, squeeze out the roasted garlic from the bottom of the bulb and set aside.
- Pour the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil into a liquid measuring cup with a spout. Add in the garlic powder, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds. Mix with a whisk until combined.
- Arrange the racks in the oven so that one rack is placed at the lowest level and another rack is placed at the highest level. Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Uncover the dough and, with greased hands, use your fingertips to create dimples all across the surface of the dough. Give the spiced olive oil a final mix to re-distribute the spices the drizzle it over top the focaccia. Press the tomatoes into the dough, cut side up. Then sprinkle the red onion, feta, flaky salt, and cracker black pepper on top.
- Place the focaccia on the lowest rack and bake it in the oven for 20-25 minutes until it has started to brown. Transfer it to the highest rack and bake it for 5 minutes until golden brown. To finish, broil it for 2-3 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and allow it to sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Use a spatula to help lift the focaccia out of the pan then place it on a wire rack to cool. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Claire Saffitz Focaccia recipe and I used A Hangry Hannah’s post for the recipe reference
