What makes the best focaccia? The best ingredients, of course. We know you’re going to love this Tomato Thyme Focaccia because the star ingredients – the tomatoes – are the best quality from Fruit Bliss.
Blogger disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Fruit Bliss. Fruit Bliss provided me with product samples and compensation for my time. All opinions expressed are my own.
What is Fruit Bliss? It’s a company started by a mom who was looking for better, more wholesome snacks for her kids. She came upon the idea of re-hydrated sun-dried fruit, which is almost certainly the tastiest way to enjoy dried fruit. Fruit Bliss products are organic and sun-dried. Then they are re-hydrated with a steam bath so that they are intensely flavored and juicy.
Fruit Bliss Sun-Dried Tomatoes
We love the Fruit Bliss sun-dried tomatoes because they are so tasty you can eat them out of hand as a snack. Like all of the other Fruit Bliss products, the only ingredient is the fruit itself (in this case, a tomato), water, and a pinch of salt. They’re not packed in oil, which makes them different from most sun-dried tomatoes on the market. And there’s no sulfur dioxide, which is a preservative traditionally added to dried fruit to preserve their color. Since there are no preservatives, the tomatoes appear dark reddish-brown. But it’s OK because the taste is sheer tomato perfection.
The superior taste of these tomatoes inspired us to make a Tomato Thyme Focaccia. Making focaccia is as easy as making pizza dough… and if you haven’t worked with yeast dough before, don’t despair. Most of the time required in this recipe is down time while you sit back and let the yeast do all the work.
Tomato Thyme Focaccia
A delicious savory flatbread dotted with olive oil, thyme, and re-hydrated sun-dried tomatoes from Fruit Bliss
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast scant tablespoon
- 1 1/4 cup very warm water divided
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves divided
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for brushing
- 6 Fruit Bliss sun-dried re-hydrated tomatoes coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
Instructions
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Place the yeast in a large mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup of the water, and stir to dissolve. Add two cups of the flour, plus the sugar, salt, remaining water, the 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil, and about 2 tbsp. of the fresh thyme. Stir to combine. Add enough extra flour (1 1/2 to 2 cups) to make a soft, smooth dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured board until smooth and elastic, about five minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 to 60 minutes
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Grease a large baking sheet or baking pan with olive oil. Place the dough in the pan and pat it down into a large rectangle shape (approximately 14" by 10", or into two rectangles that are 7" by 10") in the pan. Cover the dough with a towel and once again let it rise a second time, until doubled in bulk, approximately 30 to 60 minutes.
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Remove the towel from the dough and use your finger to poke small indentations all across the surface of the dough. Then, using a pastry brush, brush the 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil over the surface of the dough, allowing it to pool in the small indentations. Scatter the tomato pieces over the dough, pressing any large pieces down lightly so they stay attached to the bread. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove focaccia from oven and sprinkle with kosher salt and with remaining fresh thyme. Cut into squares or strips and serve with additional olive oil for dipping.
Making Focaccia, Step by Step
So just to show you the stages, you start out with a nice ball of dough:
Then you let it double in bulk:
Next, pat it into a rectangle, let it rise again, and poke indentations in it:
Just before putting it in the oven, brush it with olive oil, and add the tomatoes.
Bake it to golden brown, sprinkle herbs and kosher salt on top, and you’re done!
We love this focaccia because you can make it in any season. However, it’s especially good in the summertime with fresh garden thyme and a summer salad. We like to serve it with extra olive oil for dipping but you can also jazz it up with balsamic vinegar or an olive tapenade. It’s also just as good the second day – just pop it in the toaster so that it is a little crispy.
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Tomato Thyme Focaccia
Hi! I'm Jeanne Fratello - a writer, reporter, and food enthusiast who is on a mission to write great stories about food and where your food comes from.
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