Roasted Strawberry and Feta Focaccia with Balsamic Glaze

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add the water, make sure it’s very warm, but not hot to the touch. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until all of the flour is hydrated. There should not be any really dry pieces left at all, this will take a couple of minutes of stirring. Once all the flour is mixed in, you will have a rather shaggy mass of dough in the bowl. Cover this tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Prepare an 11×15 inch pan by brushing 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over the bottom and sides. If you don’t have that size pan, just use a larger cookie sheet and brush the oil over the bottom of it.

Once the dough has doubled, sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough, just so it isn’t as sticky and you can handle it a bit. Turn it over a couple times in the bowl with floured hands so that you have a lightly floured ball of dough. Try to use as little flour as possible, just to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.

Move the dough to the prepared baking pan and press it out with your hands to fill the pan (if using a large cookie sheet, just stretch the dough to about 11×15 inches). It may not quite reach the edges everywhere or be a perfect rectangle, that’s okay. Brush the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the dough, and spread it around with your hands, dimpling the dough and stretching it to cover it in the oil and fill the pan, leaving an uneven surface with lots of dimples all over it. Sprinkle the dough with sea salt. Cover the pan with a clean towel and let it rest for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450ºF. When dough has rested, uncover it, spread the chopped strawberries and feta over top, and place the pan into the hot oven. Bake for 25–27 minutes until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for couple of minutes and then lift it out to cool on a wire rack.

Drizzle balsamic glaze over top of the focaccia, slice into squares and serve warm. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, and are delicious either reheated or cold.