Jalapeno Foccacia

Attach the kneading paddle to your bread machine bread pan. Place all crust ingredients, in the order listed, into the bread pan. Place pan into the bread machine. Select dough/pizza dough setting and select medium size loaf. Press start to begin mixing, kneading and rising. When cycle is finished, remove dough from pan. Punch to deflate it and then let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Note: If using a stand mixer, combine yeast, sugar, salt and 2 cups of flour in the bowl and whisk to combine. Then add warm water and olive oil and beat on medium speed for at least 2 minutes until mixture forms a soft dough. You can either add flour and knead in the mixer with a dough hook if you have a KitchenAid mixer or turn the soft dough out onto a floured surface and knead enough of the remaining flour in by hand to form a soft dough that is smooth and elastic. I knead by hand. It took about 5 minutes for a nice smooth dough to form. All I did was let the dough rest for 10 minutes then proceeded with the recipe.

Brush a 12×8-inch pan with olive oil and then sprinkle with cornmeal.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to the size of the pan. Place dough on the pan and cover dough loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for about 40-50 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Press fingertip indentations into dough about 1″ apart and 1/2″ deep. Drizzle dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with chili powder, ground pepper, and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle cheese over top.

Bake at 425 F for 15-20 minutes or until golden.

(Recipe inspired by Jennifer at Bake or Break).