Focaccia

One of my "bread buddies", Joe, brought his focaccia to Bocce practice last night. His focaccia was great and it inspired me to give it a try. So I did, and while my bread was rising John & I went on a dinghy harbor cruise to see a reproduction of Columbus' Nina that was visiting our harbor:

The weather was so beautiful we took a ride out to the mile buoy:

We can't all be in Hawaii this week (and you know who I'm talking about!), but Ventura isn't too bad in January:

My focaccia (recipe below):

I know I'm always bragging about how wonderful Ventura is but I have to admit we do have our special characters. I'm sure that those of you who have seen our neighbor "The Captain" (and probably returned his wave) join us in wishing him a fond farewell:

Focaccia: Mix together starter, bread flour, salt yeast and olive in mixer for 5 minutes. Transfer dough to counter coated with flour and let rest for 5 minutes. Stretch the dough, fold envelope style and rest for 30 minutes. Repeat one more time. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, place dough on pan, cover with plastic and let rise for 2 to 3 hours. Drizzle with olive oil infused with herbs and let rise another 30 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes.