Focaccia Bread

This is my take on focaccia bread.  I serve it as either focaccia bread or bake it and use it as a pizza crust.  It has amazing flavor.

Ingredient

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 pkg. yeast
• 3/4 tsp. sugar
• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp. oregano
• 3/4 tsp. thyme
• 1/3 tsp. basil
  pinch of ground pepper
• 2 Tbs. sun-dried tomato, finely chopped (if packed in oil, dry with paper towels)
• 1 cup mozerellla cheese
• 2 Tbs. Parmeasan cheese

Directions

1. Desolve yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and sit aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar,garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil, and pepper. 
3. Mix remaining half cup of warm water, oil and yeast mixture and mix it into the dry ingredients. 
4. Mix for several minutes until texture is elastic. 
5. Put the dough on a floured board and knead for 5 minutes. 
6. Add sun dried tomatoes and knead until evenlly distributed. 
7. Put in an oiled bowl, cover and place in a warm spot to let rise.  Let rise till double, punch down and divide in half. 
8. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
9. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 
10. Pat dough out to 1/2 inch thick and place on a greased baking sheet.  Spread some olive oil on the dough, make indentations in the dough with a tool made for the job or with a wooden spoon handle, about every inch or so apart.
11. Let raise till double. If making focaccia bread, sprinkle with cheeses and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.  Leave the cheese off if making a prebaked pizza crust.  If using for a regular pizza crust, add pizza ingredients of choice and don’t let it rise after shaping it.

**I also make this recipe in a bread maker.  If making it in a bread maker, put the dry ingredients in and add the wet ingredients and turn the bread machine on.  Don’t add the tomato until the final mixing cycle.  Remove the dough before the baking cycle and shape it for desired purpose.