This month, Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms, was Kitchen of the Month. The Babes were asked to make Potato Focaccine, cute little miniature focaccias. As usual, I decided to make the recipe my way.
Issue #1: brewer’s yeast. That’s a nutritional supplement, not a baking yeast. I used baking yeast.
Issue #2: flour. I do not have Manitoba flour, or “0” flour for that matter. I do have stone-ground “Buratto” Farina Biologica Tipo 2 di Grano Tenero straight from northwestern Italy, which I bought from a local Italian restaurant in the spring when any kind of flour was difficult to find.
Issue #3: mashed potatoes. I’m a rustic masher. I boil and mash potatoes with the skin on, using a fork. I don’t want paste, I want texture, so that is what I did.
Issue #4: mixing the dough. I always mix the yeast and dry ingredients together first, then add the wet ingredients. That way, I can add a bit more water, if necessary, to make a pliable, non-sticky dough. I’ve never had problems with yeast and salt, primarily because they don’t sit together for a longish period of time.
Issue #5: forming technique. It makes more sense to divide the dough into the appropriate number of pieces, then hand roll them to size rather than use a pastry cutter or glass. This way there is no waste of dough and no extra utensil to wash.
Just before going into a 350˚ oven, I dimpled the focaccine and brushed them with olive oil. They baked for about 20 minutes and turned out beautifully.
They were also delicious and disappeared very quickly. Like certain potato chips, you can’t eat just one. They are great served as appetizers, with tomatoes, radishes, cheese, zucchini, thinly sliced ham, herbs,or other kinds of toppings.
Stop by Elle's blog for the recipe, and if you bakes these by November 29, you can let Elle know and be one of our Baking Buddies.
Also, check out the focaccine from the other Babes:
- Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
- A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
- My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
- Bread Experience – Cathy
- Thyme for Cooking - Katie
- My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
- Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle (Kitchen of the Month)
