One of my favorite places when I lived in Montreal was a bakery called Premiere Moisson. I loved gazing at the perfectly shaped croissants and the chocolatines, flaky beauties with a sliver of dark chocolate that oozed out in each greedy mouthful. There was a huge selection of breads to choose from, including hearty loaves of spelt, whole wheat, sourdough, flaxseed, plus slender multiseed baguettes and walnut loaves (one of my favourites), plenty of bread to put you in a decision-making-frenzy. If I had enough stomach space, I’d buy them all and eat like a queen.
The breads that always caught my attention were the foccacias: bacon and cheese, the sundried tomato, and of course, olive foccacia. Dark purple bits of briney fruit studded in the large, oval bread always makes me swoon (I’m easily smitten, can’t you see?). When I’m in the mood to splurge $4.50 on foccacia that I can finish in less than three days, I do, but other days, I’m much more inclined on making my own. Besides, homemade bread is immensely satisfying.
I was hesitant at how this would turn out since I used half all-purpose flour and half spelt flour, but it worked out perfectly, in fact, the best part was mixing the dough in my stand mixer which can be described in one word: easy! (if you don’t have a mixer, using your hands works too, it’s just messier).
There’s plenty of olive oil in the bread, making it moister than other foccacias I’ve made. The dough is prepared a day before baking and allowed to rise in the fridge overnight, it’s not necessary, but it strengthens the olive oil’s floral flavour. I’m also a kalamata olive-kinda girl. I find them sweeter and more tolerable than their green counterpart, though you’re free to choose whatever variety you prefer. The best part is within minutes this goes into the oven, a deep, intoxicating scent of salt, olive oil and wheat takes over, nearly stopping you from doing anything else.
Next time, I’d make this for a big dinner party and split it with friends, there’s something about fresh bread that is very homey and forgiving. Whenever I make bread at home, I always wonder why I don’t do this more often and once you try this focaccia, you will wonder too.
**By the way, I've joined Instagram! You can follow me at @ButteredupJL
Recipe here!
