Get the Recipe: Mini Brie Focaccia
Rosemary focaccia topped with mini rounds of Brie cheese and drizzle with honey after baking. A great appetizer for entertaining!
Ingredients
For the focaccia dough:
- 2 cups (250 g) bread flour, spooned and levelled
- 7/8 cup (210 g) lukewarm water , about 105F
- 1 teaspoon (3.5 g) Instant yeast , *see Note 1 below for using Active dry yeast
- 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon honey or white sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon fine table salt
For the pan:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
For topping before baking:
- 5 mini Brie cheese rounds, *see Note 2 below
- Coarse salt
- Rosemary leaves
For topping after baking:
- Runny honey, for drizzling
Instructions
- Tip! For best results, use a kitchen scale and weigh the ingredients with the weight measurements.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading hook, mix together the lukewarm water, instant yeast, olive oil, honey and salt. Add the flour and stir together until well combined. The dough will be very sticky! Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Stretch and fold the dough (*see the Notes section below for how to stretch and fold the dough). Cover the bowl again and rest for another 15 minutes. Do another series of stretches and folds. Cover with the towel again and let rise for one hour.
- Add the oil to the bottom of a 9-inch round baking pan or a 10-inch top-diameter cast iron skillet. Use a brush to spread the oil evenly over the bottom of the pan. Scrape the dough into the greased pan, then stretch and fold the dough in the pan, top over bottom, bottom over top, then flip it over so that the smooth side is up. Roughly shape the dough into a round, but don't stretch the dough to fill the pan. It will spread on its own as it rises. (**See the step-by-step photos to see how much of the pan it should fill before it rises.) Use a large baking sheet placed on top of the baking pan as a cover and let the dough rise for an hour and a half. (Alternatively, cover the baking pan with plastic wrap.)
- Use a knife to score the top of the mini Brie rounds with a hash pattern (two shallow slices horizontally and two slices vertically). Remove some rosemary leaves from the woody stem and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 430F (non-convection/not fan-assisted).
- After the dough has risen, oil your hands and use your fingertips to make lots of dimples in the dough. Place the mini Brie rounds randomly on top of the dough, pressing them into the dough slightly. Scatter some rosemary leaves over the top of the dough. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle the top with a little coarse salt.
- Bake in the preheated oven 19-23 minutes or until deep golden.
- Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle the top of the focaccia with honey. Slide the focaccia out of the baking pan and onto a wire cooling rack to cool.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. This focaccia is nice as is, or serve with fig jam or balsamic vinegar and olive oil, for dipping.
Notes
How to stretch and fold the dough: You can stretch and fold the dough right in the mixing bowl. Lightly oil your hands and grab the dough around the edge of the bowl. Pull the dough straight up to stretch it, then lay it down across the top of the dough. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Rotate the bowl another quarter turn and stretch and fold 2 more times, for a total of 4 stretches and folds around the bowl.
Note 1: For Active Dry yeast, add the yeast to the lukewarm water and the honey (or sugar). Stir and let stand 10 minutes before adding to the bowl with the other dough ingredients.
Note 2: The mini Brie cheese rounds I used (Ile de France) are 25g each and come in a package of 5, for a total of 125g (or 4.5oz).
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe. You'll also find step-by-step photos there, that you might find helpful.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 109kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 0.4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 176mg, Potassium: 25mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 0.1g, Vitamin A: 1IU, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.2mg
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