No Fuss Focaccia

I wanted to try my hand at bread making. However, I wanted to take it easy and not make a bread that would require me taking out my poor packed up Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. I had come across this recipe for No Fuss Focaccia and liked how quick and easy it was to put together. I made the bread and while it was good, it was no focaccia. Or at least it wasn't the focaccia I'm used to. The bread was dense and lacked the air-like quality of focaccia bread. Also a part of the dense feeling of the bread is that it didn't feel like it had enough oil. As a result, the bread tasted a little dry. Don't get me wrong, the bread was still good, it just didn't meet my expectation of focaccia bread.



No-Fuss Focaccia
Source: King Arthur Flour (here)

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 Tbsp olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp instant yeast
Spices for topping

Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom. Combine all of the ingredients, and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F. Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger. Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with pizza seasoning, and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired. Bake the bread till it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.