This bread is awesome.

That’s really all you need to know, but I suppose I should say a little more about it. But here. Look at it first. 
So good!

….Ok. I keep getting distracted when I think back on how yummy this bread was. Back on track.

I made this bread with my friend Jessica and it really is a quick, delicious bread. And a fancy sounding bread at that! When this bread came out of the oven, it was very difficult not to eat all of it before we even took one picture. The bread is soft but hearty. The olive oil gives it a great richness while the salt takes it to another level. We tore one of those loaves right in half and just demolished it one chunk at a time. My favorite way to eat it was to simply scrape a ragged edge of a piece of the warm bread across the top of a stick of softened butter and then enjoy directly. This is a bread that you toss to a table of hungry friends and let them tear away at it.

Or if you want to be more civilized about it, which is perfectly fine as well, it slices beautifully and you can serve it alongside your favorite pasta or with a big bowl of soup when you are feeling sick. This is a recipe that inspires me to keep yeast in my pantry so that I can whip it up when the mood strikes me. Bread always seemed like a complicated thing to me, but this is a revelation. Give it a try.

Quick Rosemary Focaccia

• 2 1/4 cups wheat bread flour
• 1 heaping teaspoon table salt
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB olive oil
• 1 small handful rosemary leaves, coarsely chopped
• Maldon salt

Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and mix until you have a rough dough. Knead the dough in an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook on medium speed until the dough is elastic and slightly sticky, about 6 minutes. Cover the dough with a dish towel and allow it to rise in a  warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425.

Punch the dough down and cut it in half. Lightly flour a clean, dry work surface and roll the dough out to about two inches thick. Brush a baking sheet or pizza pan with half of the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press your fingertips into the dough several times to create indentations on the surface. Brush with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with the rosemary and Maldon salt. Repeat the procedure with the second piece of dough.

Cover the dough with a  dish towel and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes. Bake the bread for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a rack and cool for 10 minutes. Serve.

Photographs by Jessica Yager