Garlic and Red Pepper Quinoa Foccacia Bread

 Whether its Whole Wheat, Multigrain, French, Italian, Bagels, English Muffins, or just plain and simple Indian Pav (Hamburger buns), I love bread in all forms and flavors. After moving to India, I have realized that the availability of different types of bread is very rare. You would have to go to some fancy Italian restaurant or some upscale bakery to enjoy what seemed to be normally available in any grocery story in the US. Tragic! I know. And especially for a bread lover like me, it was one of the hardest things to accept. But, I wasn't ready to give up yet. I decided to bake my own breads which will not only satisfy my craving but at the same time be healthy.

After days of research, I came across this  Basil and Rosemary Focaccia Bread recipe by Anushruti of the Divine Taste. The simplicity of the recipe is what caught my eye and I had to try it!. I have tweaked the recipe a little bit and given it a healthy twist.  Instead of using only Maida or All purpose flour, I have also used quinoa flour.

 Quinoa, as shown above, is a high-protein seed which has a delicious nutty flavor and wonderful texture. It is highly versatile, and it can be used the same way we would use rice, or rava (semolina). In the past, I have used it to make delicious and healthy salads, used it instead of rice in khichdi, and recently I made Quinoa flatbreads paired with falafel. I absolutely love it!

The golden brown crust, infused with aromatic flavors of sweet toasted garlic and red chilli flakes and a perfect bread texture!.  I am so much in love with this recipe, that while writing this I have managed to finish half of the loaf already. 

Go on, give it a try. I am sure you all will love it just as much as I do.

Garlic and Red Pepper Quinoa Focaccia Bread

Adapted from The Divine Taste

• 157ml of Milk
• 1 tsp of Active Dry Yeast*
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1/2 cup Quinoa flour ( Grind up whole quinoa in food processor)
• 1 cup Maida or All purpose flour + more for kneading
• 1tsp salt
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil

Fo the topping

• 30ml Olive oil
• 1 tbsp of Red chilli flakes
• 3 cloves of chopped garlic

Method:

1. Heat the milk till lukewarm (between 90F- 110F). Stir in the sugar and the yeast and leave aside covered for 10 mins or until the yeast as become bubbly/ frothy.
2. Combine both flours, salt and olive oil. Add in the yeast mixture once activated and knead the dough with the palm of your hand for 4-5 mins on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and soft. 
3. Shape dough into a ball and place it in a oiled bowl- cover bowl and set in a warm place to rest until double in volume (took almost an hour for me, but depending on the weather the time may vary).
4.  Punch the dough, shape and place it into a 9" by 12" baking tray. Alternatively, if you don't have a baking tray you can shape it in a circle as well.  
   Allow the dough to rest in a warm place for 1-2 hrs or until it doubles in volume. 
5. While the dough is resting, prepare the topping by heating the olive oil and mixing in the red pepper and chopped garlic. Allow this to steep for an hour or even longer so the flavors of garlic and red pepper can infused the olive oil.
6. Once the dough has raised, make equal indentations with your finger and spread the topping mixture evenly on the top. 
7. Bake at 150C for 20 mins. Every oven is different so watch carefully and make sure the bread is not burnt. 

Enjoy!

* If you are using instant yeast, you can eliminate step 3 and directly proceed to step 4.