Focaccia bread with Tahini

Our family loves bread. And in Israeli household pita or focaccia bread with a bowl of Tahini is just an everyday thing. Focaccia bread can be made simply with herbs or it can be topped with lots of vegetables ( another way to add extra veggies into your daily meals). This dish can make a great lunch or an appetizer. If you don't have time to make the bread yourself that's not a problem! You can buy it from a local bakery and just roast the vegetables. But if you want to bake the focaccia bread ,you can find a recipe here:

Ingredients for focaccia bread:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
• 2 cups warm tap water
• 1 teaspoon soft butter for greasing pan
• 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
• Italian seasoning or finely chopped fresh herbs
• flaky sea salt

Ingredients for roasted vegetables:

• 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon dried basil

• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced

• ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• ½ medium eggplant, cut into cubes

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• handful of bean sprouts for topping

• 1 hard boiled egg

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 390 F.

2. Toss eggplant, cherry tomatoes, onions and bell pepper with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and basil.

3. Roast vegetables in the oven until tender for about 20 minutes. Eggplant often cooks faster than the peppers, so you can pull them out and leave the peppers in a bit longer.

4. To make the dough : n a medium-large bowl, combine flour, salt, and instant yeast. Stir well. Add the warm water. Using a whisk, sturdy wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, mix until all of the flour is well incorporated (there should be no small pockets of flour. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

       5. Lightly butter two 9-inch cake pans. Line pans with parchment paper. Pour              one tablespoon of olive oil into the center of each pan. Divide dough in half              with a large spoon or rubber spatula and place one piece of dough in each              pan, turning to coat with oil. Tuck edges of dough underneath to form a                    rough ball.

        6.  Cover each pan tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough balls to rest             for 2 hours (it may take as long as 3 hours, depending on the warmth of your           kitchen). The dough should cover most of the pan.

         7. Preheat oven to 450˚F with a rack positioned in the center of the oven.

        8.  Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over each round of dough. With oiled                 fingers, using both hands, press straight down and create deep dimples that           go all the way through the dough (in other words, you'll actually be making               deep holes.) If necessary, gently stretch the dough as you dimple to allow               the  dough to fill the pan.

        9. Sprinkle tops with Italian seasoning (or fresh herbs) and flaky sea salt.

       10. Transfer the pans to the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to           425˚F. Bake for 22 minutes until the tops are golden and the undersides are              crisp.

       11. Place the veggies on the focaccia bread and bake for another 7 minutes. 

       12. Remove from the oven on a cooling rack.

       13. Top with bean sprouts and sliced hard boiled egg.

       14. Serve immediately with Classic Tahini.