It wasn't a wizarding restaurant, nor even a particularly high-class Muggle establishment for that matter. Cheap and mediocre Italian was the cuisine on offer, but the place close by and perfectly adequate for the days when neither of them felt like cooking. Severus confessed to liking the tagliatelle alla bolognese, while Remus was fond of the bread basket placed on every table. The owner's son was the baker, and the bread was always hot, fresh, and delicious.
Commentary: Bread. Good Italian bread with rosemary - how can you go wrong? And I would totally have Remus's response to Severus, having been fed this bread first. (Well, I would anyhow, but you know what I mean.
1 med. baking potato (ca. 9 oz.), peeled and quartered 1-1/2 tsp. rapid-rise yeast (bread machine yeast – see note) 3-1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour 1 c. warm water (105-115 degrees) 4+ Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1-1/4 tsp. salt 2+ Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves 1/4-1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Instructions:
Boil 1 qt. water in small saucepan, add potato & simmer until tender, ca. 25 min. Drain well, let cool until you can handle it comfortably and grate on large holes of box grater. Reserve 1-1/3 c. of lightly packed potato.
Mix yeast, 1/2 c. flour, and 1/2 c. warm water with wooden spoon in large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 20 minutes. Add 1-1/2 c. flour and 1/2 c. warm water to starter, then beat with wooden spoon for 5 min. (Dough will be thick and sticky.) Add 1-1/4 c. flour, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1-1/4 tsp. salt, and reserved potato; continue beating until dough comes together. Turn onto floured surface and knead in remaining 1/4 c. flour until dough is elastic and sticky, 4-5 min.
Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm, draft-free area until doubled in volume, ca. 1 hour.
With wet hands (to prevent sticking) press dough into generously oiled 15-1/2 by 10-1/2 jelly roll pan, stretching so it reaches all sides and fills all corners. (If it resists going into the corners, which is likely, cover with oiled plastic wrap and let it relax for 15 minutes; then you should be able to push it into the corners). Or halve the dough, flatten each half into an 8-in. round on a very large, generously oiled baking sheet. Cover with lightly greased or oil-sprayed plastic wrap and let rise in warm, draft-free area until puffy and doubled in volume, ca. 45-60 min.
Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. With 2 wet fingers, dimple dough at regular intervals; the large focaccia takes about 24 dimples. Drizzle dough with 2 Tbsp. olive oil (let some go in dimples) and sprinkle evenly with 2+ Tbsp. fresh rosemary (chopped if you like) and kosher salt, landing some in pools of oil.
Bake until bottom(s) of focaccia are golden brown and crisp, 23-25 min. Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly. Cut rectangular focaccia into squares, round into wedges, and serve warm.
Notes:
If you use regular active dry yeast instead of rapid-rise, let the sponge develop for 30 minutes instead of 20, and increase each rising to 1-1/2 hours.
Focaccia is best warm, so serve about 20 minutes after it leaves the oven, or reheat before serving. Can be cooled, wrapped in plastic and then foil, and frozen for up to 1 month; unwrap and defrost in 325-degree oven until soft, ca. 15 min.
To use a food processor or stand mixer for dough: in step two, mix starter ingredients in large bowl of mixer or workbowl of processor fitted with steel blade. Cover w/ plastic wrap or workbowl lid and let stand for 20 min. Add all remaining dough ingredients at once. For mixer, fit with paddle attachment and mix on low speed (2 on a KitchenAid) until dough comes together; then switch to dough hook attachment and mix on medium (4 on a KitchenAid), kneading until dough is smooth and elastic, ca. 5 min. For food processor, process until dough is smooth and elastic, ca. 40 seconds.
Variations:
Sage Focaccia: Follow recipe, but add 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage to the dough ingredients in step 2, and substitute 24 who fresh sage leaves (1 per dimple) for rosemary in topping.
Parmesan Focaccia: Follow recipe, but substitute 2/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese for rosemary and coarse salt in topping.
Black Olive and Thyme Focaccia: Follow recipe, but substitute 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves and 24 pitted large black olives (1 per dimple) for rosemary.