Name: Caramelized Onion and Apple Focaccia
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons dry yeast; ½ cup tepid water; Pinch of sugar; 3¼ cups all-purpose flour; ¼ cup whole wheat flour; 1 teaspoon salt; ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra to grease bowl; ¾ cup cold water; 3 large Spanish onions (sliced thinly ); Several thyme sprigs (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme ); ⅓ cup of white wine; 2 firm apples (Honeycrisp, Fuji cored and sliced into thin wedges ); 6 garlic cloves; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; Garnish: 2 cups goat cheese (for dairy meals, chopped flat leaf parsley )

Caramelized Onion and Apple Focaccia

A side dish, a late night dinner, a light lunch…whatever!

Just make this dish.

The dough is easy to work with and it’s fun for kids to get involved with pulling and stretching it into the pan. Add cheese if you want, or keep it simple with sweet and gooey onions.

Learn to make easy caramelized onions with 3 different hacks.

Caramelized Onion and Apple Focaccia

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 25

Total Time 1 25

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Servings

Ingredients

2 teaspoons dry yeast
½ cup tepid water
Pinch of sugar
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra to grease bowl
¾ cup cold water
3 large Spanish onions sliced thinly
Several thyme sprigs or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
⅓ cup of white wine
2 firm apples Honeycrisp, Fuji cored and sliced into thin wedges
6 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Garnish: 2 cups goat cheese for dairy meals, chopped flat leaf parsley

Instructions

For The Dough

Mix yeast, water, sugar, and ½ cup of flour together in a mixing bowl. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours until the surface resembles a sponge.
Mix in remaining flour, salt, olive oil and cold water. Knead for five minutes with the dough hook attachment, or by hand, until a smooth but slightly sticky ball of dough is formed. If it seems too wet, knead a bit more flour into it.
Oil a large bowl and put the ball of dough into the bowl, then flip the dough over so the oiled side is up. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
After the dough has risen, you can punch it down and refrigerate it for a few hours, or overnight. Let it come to room temperature before continuing.

Topping

In a large sauté pan, lightly coated with oil, caramelize onions, with thyme sprigs, over medium-high heat until very soft, gooey and dark brown. Add a bit of white wine to deglaze the pan.
Add apples and continue cooking until apples are soft and lightly browned. Add garlic, reduce heat and cook until the mixture has pulled together. Season with salt and pepper. Cool completely.
Preheat oven to 500°F. Generously grease an 18 x 13 inch pan or 2 smaller pans with oil.
Roll out dough, lightly stretching it to fit the pan. Transfer to the pan and pull to the edges. Create a small border by pinching the edges. Dimple the surface of the dough with your fingertips to create small ridges and valleys.
Distribute the onion mixture over the top. Add cheese, if using, and bake for 20-25 minutes until browned and bubbly.