Continuing with alternative baking methods/bread, I decided to attempt focaccia. Spoiler alert: not perfect, but perfectly acceptable in a pinch.

In my search for a suitably-sized vehicle, I discovered that out of the dozen or so bread/loaf pans accumulated in decades of marriage — this not being the first for either of us, though that may not explain the excessive number — only one actually fits in the toaster oven.

Dimensions, for anyone else who is oven-less, or wants to give this a try (the rest of you can enjoy a short snooze):

• Length: Exterior including handles 9.75″/25 cm; interior 8.25″/21 cm
• Width: Exterior 5″/12.25 cm; interior 4.25″/11cm
• Height: 2.5″/6.5 cm

Ingredients

(Dough)

• 1 cup warm water (not too hot; you don’t want to cook the yeast)
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 2- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon (more or less) extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

(Topping)

• 12 pitted olives, Kalamata or Castelvetrano, as you prefer, sliced
• 1-2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1-2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• Kosher salt or fleur de sel

Method

1. Place warm water in a bowl. Sprinkle the dry yeast, stir and let it dissolve for about 10 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups of flour and 1 tsp salt to the bowl and stir. The dough will be sticky.
3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Add more flour as needed. Shape dough into a ball.
4. Pour a little olive oil into your bowl, add the dough, and roll it around until it’s lightly coated.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm area until doubled, approx. 1 1/2 hours. (First rise)
6. Punch it down, knead into a ball, return to the bowl, cover with plastic and let it rise in a warm place until doubled. This takes about 45 minutes. (Second rise)
7. Pour a small amount of olive oil into your loaf pan and spread it around to coat the inside.
8. Once the second rise is finished, punch it down lightly, transfer it to the loaf pan and let it rest for 10 minutes.
9. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top of the dough. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and add the olives on top. Let it rise uncovered for about 25 minutes. (Third rise).
10. Using your fingertips, press indentations into the surface of the dough. The oil will pool in the indentations. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt
11. Bake at 450 degrees F (230C I think?) for about 15-20 minutes. Mine began to burn at 20 so keep an eye on it!
12. Serve warm with more olive oil. Adding garlic and herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme) to the oil is even better.