This focaccia is easy enough to make multiple times a week and with the help of your kids (or not). This bread is great fresh out of the oven, dipped in hummus or olive oil, or to soak up extra sauces on your plate. If there is day-old bread, we cube it up and add it to our hearty soups. You can add various herbs to the top, or keep it simple with salt and pepper. This recipe requires a 24 hour ferment, so it is important to plan ahead with this one! We go through this bread so quickly at our house, we are usually either making the dough or baking the bread most days throughout the week.
Ingredients

4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
2 cups + 1 tablespoon warm water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
2 tablespoons fresh thyme (no stems)
flaky sea salt
pepper

Directions

24 hours before baking:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, salt, and yeast. Stir to combine.
2. Add the warm water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Stir ingredients until well combined
4. Attach the bowl to the stand mixer and a dough hook, and knead on low for 10 minutes. If the dough sticks to the sides, turn the mixer off and scrape the sides. You may also run the mixer on high speed for a couple of seconds to encourage the dough to mix.
5. Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in the fridge for 24 hours. It should double in size.

Morning of baking:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto the baking sheet (the dough will be very sticky). Shape into a rough disc approximately 2 inches thick. Spread remaining 2 TBS of olive oil on dough and press down with your fingertips to create divots throughout the surface. Evenly sprinkle with thyme, black pepper, and flaky sea salt. Let dough rest for 35 minutes on the countertop.
3. Bake until golden and crisp, approximately 35 minutes. Transfer to rack and let cool.
5. After a day, store focaccia in a resealable bag for up to 2 days or 2 weeks in the freezer.