Focaccia with Banana Rings

I have wanted to try to make focaccia bread for some time.  I was inspired by seeing a blog post by Dara of the Cookin’ Canuck.  I put a small twist on what I included by switching Banana Ring Peppers for the roasted red peppers and I skipped the olives.  End result is great bread which I used for my Sunday sandwich (see next post).

Recipe
Focaccia with Banana Rings:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together 2 1/4 tsp of active yeast with 1 cup of water and 1 tsp of honey.  Let sit for about 10 minutes until the mixture begins to bubble.
2. Next, stir in 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1 tsp kosher salt. Mix Well
3. Dust a kitchen surface with a light coating of flour and knead the dough mixture for 5 – 10 minutes (you want to turn in it in on itself to get to a point where the dough mixture is no longer tacky)
4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel; move to a dark place and let rest for an hour
5. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees;  remove the dough from the bowl and press it into a lightly oiled 9″ x 13″ baking pan.  Final step of this process is to take your fingers and poke holes throughout the dough
6. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil and let rest another 30 – 40 minutes (until your desired thickness)
7. Top with a handful of Banana rings placed uniformly over the dough; sprinkle 1/2 tsp of dried oregano and 1/4 tsp of salt over dough
8. Bake until golden brown – about 12 minutes.  Remove to a cooling rack and eat when ready