Help! bread question, need quick answer

[Tiger]

I'm making focaccia bread for a Itlian dinner I'm having for my family tonight. The focaccia bread should be ready to bake at 11am and my dinner is for 6pm. Do I bake it and serve it room temp., or bake it right before serving? TIA

[NancyR]

IMHO a lot of this is personal preference but I think I would go ahead and bake it early. Although it is always tempting to dive right in when bread comes out of the oven, the cooling period is actually part of the "cooking time". It continues to cook internally and if you slice it too soon it will be doughy in the middle.

[valchemist]

I prefer my focaccia warm, so I would bake it closer to the time you want to serve it. but that is just me.

by the way, Patty, your help is needed on this thread.

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51767

[Beth]

If you want to bake it closer to dinner time, allow a few minutes for it to sit before cutting, but put it in the fridge before it finishes rising or it will likely fall. Dough will not continue rising forever. You can bake it this morning and warm it up right before dinner too.

[Tiger]

Thanks guys. I think I'm going ahead a baking it now. So now for the next question. When it's done do I just leave it out all afternoon at room temp. or refrig. and warm up?

(Val, thanks for the heads up)

[Beth]

I'd leave it at room temp -- cover it only after it has completely cooled, then warm up before serving.