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Raisin Focaccia {focaccia con uva passa}

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Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day. I love the smell of espresso brewing first thing in the morning. It makes me smile a little even though the sun isn’t even out yet and I’d rather be back in bed under the covers.

We’ve been on a cinnamon raisin bread kick over here  the last few weeks. The kids are eating it for breakfast and as an afterschool snack. I couldn’t wait to make a sweet focaccia for this months’ focaccia theme for #breakingbread. I thought raisins would be  perfect addition to this soft and billowy dough. 
Focaccia originates in the Liguria region of Italy. I’ve heard that the best focaccia can be found between the beautiful Cinque Terre and Genoa. A slice of raisin focaccia and a steaming hot cup of cappuccino is my idea of a dream breakfast. 
I would also love my focaccia with chocolate chips or chocolate chip focaccia slices stuffed with a scoop of gelato…I may need to go to focaccia rehab pretty soon.

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Breaking Bread Society was launched last week by Shulie, Marnely, and myself. We would love for you to join us #breakingbread every month. My first recipe was for a savory Caramelized Onion and Cherry Tomato Focaccia. This week I decided to go sweet and let me tell you, it is AMAZING! The turbinado sugar gives the crust a soft delicious crunch in every bite. Stuffed with juicy raisins…I had a hard time controlling myself from devouring half of the bread. 
Whether you bake along with us every month or just once, we want to inspire you to love baking your own bread one loaf at a time. We encourage you to make the recipe your own. Check out Marnely of Cooking with Books and Shulie from Food Wanderings recipe ideas for inspiration. Be creative and add your own toppings or bake it as we did.  Read all about our Breaking Bread Society adventures and let’s unite in #breakingbread together:

Bake this month’s bread and post it on your blog with #BreakingBread in the title of the post by the 29th:
  • Include a link back to the current #BreakingBread hostess’ blog (that is me!)
  • Link your post to the linky tool below. It must be a focaccia baked in May 2012 and if you use this recipe, it must include in the recipe: Copyright (c) Nick Malgieri 1995, All Rights Reserved
  • We would love to connect with you on Twitter; Tweet us at @Breaking_Bread  and tag it #BreakingBread!

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*If you really want to make this and don’t have the time to wait for the dough to rise, you could make the dough and leave it in the refrigerator over night (or place in the refrigerator in the morning and take out to bake at the end of the day). When you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and press into your oiled or parchment lined pan and let it rise before baking it.

*As mentioned in earlier in the post, you could use your own favorite focaccia recipe if you prefer. We just would love you to bake along with us!;)

Raisin Focaccia {focaccia con uva passa}
 adapted from: How to Bake by Nick Malgieri
Copyright (c) Nick Malgieri 1995, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups warm tap water (about 110 degrees)
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons sea salt
2 cups raisins (I used dark raisins. You could use any kind of raisins)

Topping:
2-3 tbsp. turbinado sugar (coarse sugar)
one 101/2 x 151/2-inch jelly roll an or a 14-inch round pan (for my round one, I used a 9-inch cake pan and it was very fluffy.


In a small bowl, add the water and sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Add 3 tablespoons of the oil and whisk together. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl, add the flour and 3 teaspoons of salt; whisk together or mix together on low speed in your mixer.
Add the yeast mixture and about half of the flour mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula until it is combined. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and add the remaining flour and the raisins. Mix on low speed for about three minutes. (If the dough seems to be too dry, add warm water a teaspoon at a time until you obtain a softer dough.)

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It is a dough that is elastic and a little moist.

Form the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl (when I put the dough in the bowl I swish the dough around the bottom of the bowl and then flip it over so all of the dough is covered in a light film of oil). Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1-1 1/2 hours)
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Place the dough on a parchment lined pan. Pat and press the dough gently until the dough fills the pan completely. If the dough resists, let it rest for a few minutes before continuing (sometimes the dough can be moody). Cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap and let it rise again until doubled in size (about 40-60 minutes).
Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 F.DSCN9969

When the dough has doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap. Dimple the surface of the risen focaccia using your fingertips (if it’s too sticky, dip your fingers in olive oil before dimpling the bread).
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Brush on the remaining olive oil to the surface of the dough. Sprinkle on the turbinado sugar.

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Bake the focaccia for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Lift the focaccia from the pan with the parchment paper edges onto a cutting board. You’re supposed to let it cool a little on a rack before serving. That never happens over here. Cut and serve.

Happy focaccia baking! Thank you for your #breakingbread support and comments.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  8. Shulie says

    I never knew you could bake a sweet focaccia until I saw yours. This is super delicious and so happy fr this sweet addition to the #breakingbread board!

    Reply

  9. Zoe says

    Sounds like this is a great event to join. I will link up with your event when I'm baking and posting a focaccia in this month.

    Reply

  12. Susan Lindquist says

    Oh, this looks so delicious! I think when I make it, I'll use some raw sugar and candied orange peel to sprinkle on top … and I'll have it with hazelnut coffee … for breakfast! Yum!

    Reply

  13. Paula says

    If it wasn't so late in the day, I think I'd make this immediately. I am going to try it but may switch up the raisins with something else (only 'cause I've no raisins in the house)

    Your pictures are making me hungry!!

    Reply

  16. Ilke says

    I am going to join you guys, I love that there is no deadline pressure, minimum number of participation or you get kicked out pressure etc… Go with our own pace and connect. 🙂
    Thanks for starting a great one. I will get act together and start thinking about the flavors! 🙂

    Reply

  17. Rachel says

    Breakfast is my absolute favorite time of the day (note that it's an entire "time" for settling into the day, clearing my head, and savoring some delicious food). I often find myself eyeing the cinnamon raisin bread in the market and almost buying it. I talk myself out of it because it doesn't work for as many different kinds of sandwiches as other kinds of bread. Focaccia, though, I can get behind. That's a meal in itself. I'll be mixing my dough in about 5 minutes!

    Reply

  18. Chetana Suvarna Ganatra says

    Hey,
    New to ur fab page..Am a fan of foccacia…always exploring with new herbs and stuffing, but never used raisins.God this looks just to good. And yes, a cinnamon raisin toast is heavenly with a cuppa. Will try this next time when my sweet tooth aches for love.
    Cheers,
    Chetana
    'The Gourmet Table, Down Under- Live India A Little'

    Reply

  19. Lisa says

    I don't usually like raisins, except out of hand when I'm in the mood. However, I think I could easily be persuaded, just with my eyes, to devour your raisin focaccia. I was going to make a special middle eastern 'fusion focaccia', but ended up throwing together a one pot bread..no kneading, just into fridge then oven, only because it was simple, for a guest post. Now I wish I made the fusion focaccia. I will try and get one in before the end of the month!

    Reply

  21. Lemons and Anchovies says

    I love the idea of a sweet focaccia–I especially love that this has raisins. Mmm, I rarely drink coffee but I think this would be just as perfect with my morning (or afternoon) tea. 🙂

    Have a great Mother's Day weekend, Lora!

    Reply

  24. Barbara | Creative Culinary says

    I made my focaccia yesterday. I ate it yesterday. There were no photos. I am making more today. Mine is my standard 'love' with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and Parmesan but I'm also game to try a sweeter version. Who said we need meat for a holiday barbecue anyhow? 🙂

    Reply

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