Whole Wheat Jalapeno Focaccia

There are very few people who are not fond of pizza. I am one of them. I did like it when I used to eat cheese, but not now. But, the kids ask to go to a pizza place almost every week and we do take them to Bertucci's once in a  while. When we go there, we have a standard order. A personal pizza for kids which is just cheese pizza and another personal pizza for myself and my husband which is cheese less pizza with lot of veggies. And first couple of times, I used to ask for Jalapeno peppers as toppings and the waitress would tell me that they don't have it. That is when I realized that Italian restaurants do not have jalapeno as one of the pizza toppings. So, I made my own favorite flat bread. I actually started with the no knead focaccia recipe. But, I decided to use whole wheat flour completely. When I did use gluten and the whole wheat flour, I knew it won't have a nice texture if I don't knead it. So, I kneaded it briefly and went on with the recipe. Result was an amazingly soft and fluffy focaccia that is completely made with whole wheat flour and has no added sugar in it.

One Year Back - Mango Bread,  Bread Machine, Do I need it?
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour - 3 cups
Vital Wheat Gluten - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
Warm Water - 1 1/2 cups
Instant yeast - 1 TBSP
Cilantro - Chopped 1/4 cup
Jalapeno - Drained and chopped 3 TBSP or more as per taste divided use (You could use fresh Jalapeno pepper about 2)
Olive oil - 3 TBSP plus more for the pan and topping
Coarse sea salt - for topping (optional)

Method:
In a bowl, take warm water. Add olive oil, salt, yeast, flour and gluten. Mix it with a wooden spoon. When you can no longer mix with the spoon, use your hands to mix it and start kneading it. This is a bit tacky dough. Don't be tempted to use more flour. It is alright if it is sticking to your fingers. Add half of the jalapeno peppers and the entire chopped cilantro. Knead it for about 5 minutes.
Grease a 13 X 9 pan with little bit of olive oil. Take the kneaded dough and pat it into the pan spreading to cover the complete pan. Oil your hands while doing so. When done, sprinkle the remaining jalapeno pepper pieces and press it to the dough gently. Dimple the dough and top with some olive oil. You can go heavy on olive oil or light. Cover with an oiled aluminum foil and let it rise for 1 hour or till the dough is all bubbly and double in volume. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375 F. If using, sprinkle the sea salt. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until golden on the top. Remove and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn it on to the wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

This one goes to Yeastspotting.


Enjoy.