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Marionberry, Rosemary and Honey Focaccia

Adapted from Genuine Skagit Cooking by Blake Van Roekel and Stephanie LaJeunesse, recipe by Laurie Pfalzer, chef, teacher (pastrycraftseattle.com) and author of Simple Fruit. Image by Charity Burggraaf.
Savory focaccia gets a sweet setup. I’ve been making fruit focaccia for many years for both savory and sweet palates. Use any type of blackberry or blackberry hybrid here, but the intense tart-sweet marionberry sets nicely against the savory rosemary. You can also try a classic blackberry such as the Obsidian grown at Hayton Farms on Fir Island, which is much sweeter than a marionberry. Or the fleeting floral tayberry or loganberry—hybrids of raspberries and blackberries—would do nicely here. After berry season ends, I replace the berries with stone fruit, such as peaches, nectarines and plums. The options are endless! This focaccia is even better when you use locally grown and milled flour from Cairnspring Mills. Note that the dough has a two-step process, so be sure to plan ahead for the 10 to 14-hour waiting period while your starter develops.
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Course Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack
Servings 1 9-inch focaccia (or 3 to 4 servings)

Ingredients
  

FOR THE POOLISH (STARTER)

  • ¼ cup cool water (about 70° F)
  • Pinch of active dry yeast
  • ⅓ cup Cairnspring Mills Organic Edison T85 All-Purpose
  • Flour or bread flour

FOR THE FOCACCIA

  • 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast or ¾ teaspoon instant yeast
  • ¾ cup lukewarm water (about 85° F)
  • 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons honey
  • 1¾ cups Cairnspring Mills Organic Edison T85 All-Purpose
  • Flour or bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • 3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh rosemary
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup marionberries

Instructions
 

TO MAKE THE POOLISH:

  • In a small bowl, combine the water and yeast. Add the flour and stir until combined. The poolish will be very wet. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 14 hours, until you are ready to mix the final dough.
  • To mix the final dough: In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water. Add the poolish, breaking it up with your hands into small pieces for easy mixing. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the honey, the flour, 2 tablespoons of the rosemary, and the salt and mix with a wooden spoon or bowl scraper until the dough starts to come together but is still ragged.
  • Continue mixing the dough by grasping it on the outside and pulling or stretching it into the middle as you turn the bowl. Continue until the dough becomes elastic and smoother. The dough will still look somewhat rough, but it will have some muscle to it. Flip the dough over in the bowl and cover it. Rest the dough at room temperature (about 70° F) for about 30 minutes.
  • Gently fold the dough by stretching each side and folding it into the middle. Flip the dough over in the bowl and cover it. Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes.

TO MAKE THE FOCACCIA:

  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F. In an 8-inch round baking pan, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and set aside. (It’s OK to use a larger pan, but your focaccia will be thinner.)
  • Lightly dust a work surface with flour and then gently pat out the dough with your hands to 8 inches in diameter. (Note that there is a top and bottom to your dough. The top is the side that is facing up while it rests. This should continue to be the top.) Place the dough top down in the prepared pan to cover the top with oil. Turn the dough over so that the oiled top is facing up (both sides will have oil on them). Press the marionberries into the dough and let it sit uncovered in a warm place for 30 minutes. (I use the stove top of my oven for some extra warmth.)
  • Just before baking, use your fingertips to “stipple” the dough, so that the dough is indented across the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary over the top. Bake the focaccia until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
  • After removing the focaccia from the oven, slip it from the pan onto a rack to cool for 10 minutes. In a small pot over medium heat, warm the remaining 3 tablespoons of honey. Brush the honey gently over the top of the focaccia. Cool the focaccia completely before serving.
  • Focaccia is best served the same day. Store any leftover focaccia in an airtight container; it can be refreshed the following day in a 400° F oven for 5 minutes.

Notes

Recipe and images used with permission from Raspberry Bow Press

In Genuine Skagit Cooking, a group of collaborators have created a book that celebrates all the diverse agricultural bounty of Skagit County: the food, the farmers and the region’s beauty.

Keyword baked goods, berry, bread, honey, rosemary