Elissa's Garlic Focaccia

GARLIC CONFIT

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
2. Peel the garlic by breaking the cloves away and placing them into a heatproof bowl. Submerge in boiling hot water for 5 minutes and drain. The skin will become loose and easy to peel away. 
3. Place the garlic cloves, thyme and rosemary into an ovenproof dish and fully submerge in olive oil. It's important the garlic is fully submerged in the olive oil so it does not burn. Bake for 2 hours or until the garlic has browned in colour. 
4. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container or jar with the garlic cloves fully submerged in the olive oil for up to several weeks in the fridge.

FOCACCIA

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the lukewarm water, yeast and maple syrup with a whisk and leave to sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast has foamed.  
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt and whisk together. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and bring the dough together with a whisk or your hands hands until a shaggy and sticky dough forms.
3. Coat a large mixing bowl with 4 tablespoons of the garlic confit olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Coat the dough in the olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place into the fridge. Leave the dough to rise for a minimum of 6 hours but ideally for 24 hours. The dough will double in size and look bubbly. 
4. Take the dough out of the fridge and fold it over itself in quarters. Gather up each edge of the dough with your hands and fold it over itself while turning the bowl. The dough will deflate while you shape it into a neat ball. 
5. Coat a deep rectangular baking dish 9 x 13 x 2 with 2 tablespoons of the garlic confit olive oil and transfer the dough ball to the baking dish. Using your fingers, stretch the dough out slightly into a rough rectangular shape. There is no need to stretch the dough out to the edges of the pan as the dough will rise and spread.  Leave the dough to rise in a warm area ( I put in my unheated oven) of your house for 3 - 4 hours. 
6. Preheat the oven to 390 degrees. Once the dough has risen, use your fingers to indent or dimple the dough. Scatter the garlic confit cloves and rosemary over the dough. Drizzle the dough with 2 tablespoons of the garlic confit olive oil. This will help the crust of the dough get golden and crispy when baking. Finish off with a sprinkling of flakey sea salt. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until the dough has developed a golden crust on top. 
7. Let the bread slightly cool before removing it from the baking tray. Place onto a wire rack.