Stuffed Focaccia with chorizio, plum tomatoes and onions

Stuffed Focaccia with Chorizio,plum tomatoes, onions and Gruyère cheese 

Okay you guys must think that I just spend days in my kitchen slaving away to post you all these goodies. Well, your right. I couldn't wish to be any where else on my free time than in my kitchen cooking and baking my little heart and wallet out. I know another posting for chorizio sausage, but hear me out. It is nearly impossible to find any good quality Italian sausage or any meat like sausages in my local shop or any near by, and I didn't have the time to take a trip to Göteborg to the Salu Halle  to find a real sausage, so hence here is chorizio again.....Which in this recipe so made my mouth thank me.


I love bread, all kinds of bread, hard breads, white breads, danish breads, swedish breads, amish bread, etc, etc.....Then I came across this beauty onwww.theitaliandishblog.com and I knew I had to try it out. This is the best and easiest wow bread to make. I adapted it quite a bit to use what I had on hand and it came out so smoking delicious, I think this is a sure keeper for the days of beer swiggin' on the balcony this summer.


The Italian dish used turkey sausage and one large onion, Parmesan cheese, habanero pepper, and oregano, but I took it a few steps farther and added some all time goodies of mine. Fresh baby plum tomatoes, red, yellow and spring onions, Gruyère cheese and dry chili flakes.
It is a fun way to make a hardy bread sandwich for the coldest months or to take on a picnic or out ice fishing. I am sure if you tried it you would be amazed at the simplicity of this recipe. Go forth my bread foodies and bake one for your nearest and dearest!


Serves  6-8
Preheat oven at 175 degrees C
You will need a 9'' inch spring form pan for this recipe.


how to sponge:
1/2 cups of warm water(not hot)

sponge

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast fast acting rapid rise( I skipped this part, and used a traditional fresh sweet based fast acting 50g fresh yeast cube)
3/4 cup all purpose unbleached flour


how to dough:
1 teaspoon instant yeast( I skipped this part and just went with the 50g all in the sponge)
1 cup water

silky second rising dough

3 tablespoons olive oil I used extra virgin
ADD THE SPONGE ABOVE
3.25 cups of unbleached all purpose flour  approximately)
2 teaspoons sea salt

how to stuffing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
500g-1 pound sausage 
2 medium yellow onion
1 small red onion
2 stalks of green onions or spring onions or salad onions
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried chili flakes or any fresh chili of your choice
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, kosher salt,freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic minced or grated
1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Gruyère cheese
six-8 small fresh plum tomatoes sliced length ways


how to topping: 
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoons coarse sea salt, black pepper, chili flakes, oregano, or any kind of spices you like.


To make the sponge:
sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread making bowl and stir in the flour.Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled and bubbly about 45 minutes.


To make the dough:
Add the rest of the yeast if using dried and not fresh. I added  all yeast in at the sponge part, so I skipped this part and added in the water, olive oil and then added about 2.5 cups of flour and worked with my hands a wooden spoon.The original recipe uses a Kitchen aid bread hook but, we are all about getting our grove on with hands on bread making in this house!
Knead in your bowl until a somewhat sticky but somewhat formed dough. Roll out onto the counter and add the rest of the flour or as much as you will need to make a silky springy dough.( You know when it is springy when to poke at it gently and it releases it's poke back to it's original form). Knead for a good 5-7 minutes. It's great relaxation!


Return to a clean large bread rising type bowl and coat with a few teaspoons of olive oil and roll the dough around to keep from drying out. Cover again with plastic wrap and put in a warm place a top the preheating oven is a great place to let rise until double again.About 30-45 minutes.Make sure the plastic wrap is not tightly clinging over the edges to allow the dough to rise.


how to stuffing:

remember to strain off that fat!

I removed the casings from my sausage and crumbled them into nice bite size pieces.Slice all your onions and garlic. Grate your cheese, chop your parsley and set a side.Take the olive oil and heat up in a frying pan and fry up your sausage. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and dis guard  the fat( there will be lots!)BUT:: do not wipe out the frying pan. Add the olive oil, onions,garlic and cook until they are nicely wilted but not browned or burnt. Add back the precooked sausage and mix in the chili flakes and a little salt and pepper. Take off the heat and pour into a bowl and add your chopped parsley and grated cheese. Let  sit on the counter room temp until bread is finished rising.

yummo

baby plum tomatoes!

how to third rise:

the bottom before the stuffing added

Adding the top, and hello giant hand..:(

After the second rise and you have punched down the dough and oiled your spring form pan. Divide the dough into two equal parts. Flatten the first part into a disk that resembles roughly the size of your spring form pan.Form the dough with your hand to flatten but not torture the dough into the pan. Now spoon the filling onto the top of dough.Add the sliced baby plum tomatoes and add repeat the procedure with the top portion of the second half of the dough.Cover with a clean tea towel and let raise again for 30 minutes. When it is finished rising gently dimple the top of the dough with your fingers. drizzle a little olive oil over the top and add all the chili flakes, oregano, basil any type of dry herbs you would like. Add a little sea salt and lots of black pepper. 

oh so so so so goooddd......

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top in golden brown and sounds hollow. Let sit for a few minutes or an hour then undo the pan and serve in slices. So beautiful this is! You can reheat this in an 175 degree C oven for 15 minutes. Please try and share with your foodie friends and family.