Focaccia with Caramelized Onions and Capers

• 10 ounces water (about 90 F)
• 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
• 20 ounces bread flour
• 1.25 ounces kosher salt
• 1 ounce sugar
• 1 ounce extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion (peeled + julienned)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon capers

To Top the Bread

• sea salt to taste
• olive oil to taste

1. Whisk the yeast into the water until it dissolves and set it aside.
2. In the meantime, caramelize the yellow onions and put them on a pan and into the freezer to cool.
3. In your stand mixer bowl add the flour, sugar, salt and olive oil with the dough hook attachment.
4. Activate your yeast and once you see that it's activated (it will start to gently froth, about 5 minutes), add the yeast-water mixture to your bowl and mix on low speed (pulsing at first to make sure the flour doesn’t shoot up the sides of the bowl) for about 7 minutes. The dough will still be a little shaggy and look dry.
5. After the 7 minutes of mixing, add the cooled caramelized onions, capers and parsley to the dough (make sure you strain off any excess liquid from the capers and onions) and continue to mix for about 3 minutes or until everything is evenly incorporated into the dough. The dough should be slightly tacky to the touch but should release from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If needed, add more flour.
6. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and put into a large bowl that has been coated with a thin coat of olive oil. Loosely wrap with plastic and place the bowl in your designated proofing area or use your oven's proofing setting. Allow the dough to proof until it has doubled in size.
7. Once the dough has doubled in size (about 2 hours), punch down the dough and stretch it out into a pan that has been sprayed or oiled. (This pan will be the pan you bake the bread in).
8. Once you stretch it across the bottom so it evenly covers the pan, take your fingers and push indents into the bread. Wrap the pan and proof for another 1-2 hours or until it has doubled in size.
9. When the bread is about 10 minutes from doubling in size, preheat your oven to 375 F. If you're proofing in your oven, make sure to take out the bread to preheat. The bread will still continue to proof.
10. When the bread has properly proofed, remove the plastic and drizzle olive oil on the top and crack coarse flakes of sea salt on top.
11. Bake the bread for about 20-25 minutes until the top is a beautiful golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap on it.
12. Remove from the oven and enjoy when cooled.