Bacon Jam Focaccia
This Bacon Jam Focaccia pairs smoky, sweet, crisp bacon with the flavors of sweet caramelized onion. The jam is layered over bubbly, golden crisp focaccia. This bread can be made with yeast, or sourdough. It makes an irresistible appetizer, side, or a delicious sandwich bread. The bacon jam features Troegenator from Troegs Beer, which adds subtle fruit notes of dark cherry, raisin and fig. It also adds an incredible depth of flavor to both the bacon jam and the barbecue sauce, but feel free to substitute for water if you prefer.
Bacon Jam Focaccia
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 9×13 inch loaf 1x
Description
This Bacon Jam Focaccia pairs smoky, sweet, crisp bacon with the flavors of sweet caramelized onion. The jam is layered over bubbly, golden crisp focaccia. This bread can be made with yeast, or sourdough. It makes an irresistible appetizer, side, or a delicious sandwich bread.
Ingredients
You can make this focaccia with either sourdough or yeast. Both recipes are below.
Sourdough
- 1/2 cup active starter (115 grams)
- 1 3/4 cups warm water (398 grams)
- 4 cups bread flour (490 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (10 grams)
YeastÂ
- 2 cups warm water, warmed to 110F
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Bacon Jam
- 1 pound bacon, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3/4 cup water, dark lager, or Troegenator
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, finely chopped, or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
Instructions
1. Make the bacon jam. In a large skillet, add bacon. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the bacon is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon, then drain all but two tablespoons of bacon grease.
Add onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent and soft. Add in the brown sugar, maple syrup, Troegenator, dark lager, or water, rosemary, and apple cider vinegar.
Bring mixture to a boil, for 2 minutes, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Allow to cool, slightly. If you want a finer texture, you can place in food processor and pulse a few times until your desired consistency is achieved.
2. Make the focaccia. In a large bowl, add yeast and warm water. Whisk together and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes (this is not necessary, but I like to do this just to ensure the yeast is fully working). Add remaining ingredients. Mix until a rough, shaggy dough ball forms. For the sourdough
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 2 hours for yeast
8 hours, or overnight, for sourdough.
4. Add roughly 1/4 cup olive oil to 9×13 inch pan. Tilt the pan so the entire bottom and sides are covered in oil. Add the dough to the greased pan. Gently stretch the dough out to mostly fit the pan. If you would like to add any toppings to the center of the dough, you can sprinkle over half the dough, then gently stretch the bottom half of dough without toppings on over top. (see bottom of recipe in the notes section for flavor ideas)
5. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an additional 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 450F.
7. Generously oil the top of the dough with olive oil. Add whatever toppings you like. Using the tips of your fingers, press into the dough to make indents in the dough.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown in color.
- Prep Time: 40
- Rise Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Hi jolene !
I need you help I’ve made focaccia a few times, but I still can’t get the texture I want (T_T) Can you give me some tips on how to make the dough with instant yeast?
Do I need to stretch and fold it while it’s resting, or should I just let it rise without doing anything?
Also, is it better to let the dough rise overnight even if I’m using instant yeast ?
Hi Mel!
What kind of texture are you looking for in the focaccia? The way that I personally make focaccia is to use instant yeast and I do not do any stretch and folds (honestly because I am usually so busy with my four kids, haha, so I do the least amount that is needed!).
And you can certainly allow the dough to rise overnight in the refrigerator, but you would want to use a smaller amount of yeast if doing this. I would recommend using only 1 teaspoon if doing an overnight rise. This will give you more flavor in the dough. You will also get bigger air bubbles in your dough with an overnight rise. Although you still get big air bubbles in a same day rise.
If you are looking for something that you can make in a timely manner, you can use 2 1/4 teaspoons of instant yeast and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours at room temperature in a bowl. After the 2 hours, pour/scoop the dough out into a greased 9×13 inch pan. Cover and allow to rise for an additional hour before baking, then add your toppings and dimple the dough.
If you want a crisp crust, baking in a cast iron or metal pan will yield the most crisp crust. Make sure to pour 3-4 tablespoons olive oil on the bottom of the pan (before you add the focaccia dough to your pan), and drizzle olive oil on top of the dough as well.
I would suggest baking at 450F for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on the focaccia, if it starts to get too dark on top, you can cover with aluminum foil until it finishes baking. The internal temperature should be 200F when it is done baking. I hope all of this helps!
-Jolene
I was looking for a texture with more air bubbles.
This time I did exactly what you said and also let the dough rise overnight. My focaccia turned out much closer to what I was going for
thank you so much !!!
oh that is wonderful to hear! So glad that I could help you out! I personally prefer the overnight version, but most of the time forget to plan in advance, haha!