How to Make an Easy, Whole-Wheat Sourdough Focaccia or Flat Bread in Your Slow Cooker (Diabetic Friendly)
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
This focaccia, or flat-bread, is easy to make, and you can cook it in your slow cooker to avoid heating the oven. I top the bread simply with grated Parmesan cheese, Italian herbs, a little garlic and onion powder, and a little olive oil. The bread will brown slightly and have a slightly crispy bottom and a soft, puffy top. I don't make the traditional "dimples" in the bread, but it isn't necessary. The bread will rise slowly in the slow cooker and turn out well without the dimples. You can certainly drizzle on more olive oil, if you'd like, once the bread has finished cooking. Or try topping the bread with arugula, halved cherry tomatoes, shavings of Parmesan cheese, and then a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It will be good! I use white whole-wheat flour to make the sourdough bread, which keeps the fiber content higher and makes the bread more acceptable (in moderation, as always) if you're on a diabetic diet or want to "eat healthy." We especially like the bread warm alongside soups and salads. Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Sourdough Whole-Wheat Focaccia or Flat Bread (Diabetic Friendly)
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour
Mix all of the ingredients above in a large bowl, cover the bowl loosely, and let the mixture sit for at least an hour (one to four hours is fine). When you're ready, add to the mixture:
3/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Stir, then knead in the flour and salt, adding a little extra flour (1/4-1/2 cup) as you knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, to prevent the dough from being too sticky to knead. Roll or pat out the dough to a rectangle about as large as the bottom of your slow cooker crock. Spritz your slow cooker crock with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom and an inch or so up the sides of the crock with baking parchment. Spritz the parchment with non-stick cooking spray. Lift the dough gently (you can fold it loosely in half to move it) and place it in your slow cooker, on top of the baking parchment, pressing the dough out to cover the bottom of your slow cooker and a half inch or so up the sides of the crock. Turn the slow cooker on to high heat.
Spritz the top of the dough liberally with olive oil, then sprinkle the oiled dough evenly with:
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of Italian herbs
2-4 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese
Cover the slow cooker and let the bread cook for about 2 hours or until the bread is golden brown. When the bread looks almost done, I usually remove the lid from the slow cooker and let the focaccia continue to cook for 20-30 minutes to crisp it up a bit. Lift the focaccia from the slow cooker using the parchment to help you, and cut it into squares to serve it. You can drizzle on more olive oil if you like or serve the bread "as is."
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