Like this:

Yes, I was too impatient to slice properly.

A friend recently visited me while I was visiting Texas. I couldn’t wait for him to come down because when he’s around I tend to do a lot of good cooking and a lot of good eating. This, of course, got me to thinking about all my friends. I started to see a pattern: I suspect that I might subconsciously choose my friends based upon their cooking and/or eating skills. In fact, if you’re reading this and you’re my friend, there could be some correlation.

Maybe. But I also tend to collect friends who have weird idiosyncrasies, buy in bulk, and have creepily neat handwriting so maybe you should think about that too.

In any case we made this muffuletta combo when my friend was visiting, and the best thing about it was that he was amazed–I mean amazed–by how quickly we put it together. He kept asking my mother if she really made it from scratch that fast. The bread is actually a focaccia recipe, but it works perfectly for the muffuletta sandwich and for thick pizza crust as well. It’s one of the easiest breads, but, as it usually goes with yeast bread, everyone coos and clucks when you’ve pulled it out of the oven.

Following the recipe, I also included instructions for putting together the whole muffuletta sandwich.

Muffuletta – Focaccia – Pizza Dough

recipe from The Silver Palate

Ingredients

-3 1/2 c. flour

-3/4 tsp. salt

-2 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast (approx. one package if you’re buying in the US)

-1 c. water, about 115 degrees, that is, just painful to the touch but not boiling

-1 tbsp. sugar

-5 tbsp. olive oil

Optional Suggestions for Topping

-red onions, sliced

-rosemary

-garlic, sliced

-red wine vinegar

-olive oil

-coarse sea salt

Method

Stir together 2 cups of flour plus the salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a mixer.

In a separate small bowl, combine the yeast, heated water, and sugar. Let sit until the sugar has dissolved, usually just over 5 minutes. Then add the olive oil, and stir together.

Pour the liquid into the flour and salt. Knead gently or mix (in mixer), and slowly begin to add the rest of the flour. Keep kneading and adding flour until the dough reaches an elastic and smooth consistency. You may need to add less than 3 1/2 cups flour, but do not add more than that.

Now decide what you’re making with the bread. Split the dough into appropriately sized pieces. For muffuletta, you’ll want to make hamburger-bun sized portions. This recipe will make about 6. For focaccia, I either make one large focaccia or two slightly smaller ones. Pizza crust depends on your pizza size. After dividing the dough, transfer to a baking dish. I like to use a pizza stone for this, but you can use any metal dish. Sometimes in order to prevent any sticking, I sprinkle a little cornmeal on the metal dish.

After forming the dough, use your fingers to dimple the top if making focaccia.

Then set the dough aside, and allow it to rise until doubled in size. The timing depends on two things: the heat of your kitchen and the size of the rolls. If it’s hotter in your kitchen, the dough rises faster. If the dough balls are smaller, they rise faster as well. Keep in mind that you can cook the dough at any stage – rising just gives it a more bread flavor. Muffuletta rising took about 20 minutes in my kitchen.

Now preheat your oven to 400 degrees. (There is no reason to turn that oven on early in this summer heat!)

If you’re topping your focaccia or muffuletta buns, prepare the topping. We caramelized some sliced red onions, along with sliced garlic, fresh rosemary, and red wine vinegar. I suspect that dried tomatoes and thyme are also a good option here. If you’re making pizza, I don’t think you need any help deciding how to dress the dough.

One the dough has risen, brush or drizzle a little olive oil over top, spread on the toppings, sprinkle on some salt (coarse preferably), and bake. Again, bake time depends on bread size. The muffulettas take 15-2o minutes; a whole focaccia usually takes about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when the bread just begins to brown and smell delicious.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat before you serve, if not eating immediately.

To make the muffuletta sandwich:

Slice the warm sandwich buns in half. Add a couple of slices of ham, a couple of provolone (swiss is good too, but not traditional), and a generous scoop of olive salad. Eat. Do make sure that the bread is warm so the cheese will get a little melty.

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