Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Pear and Blue Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 1 TBS olive oil, divided
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 large firm pear, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup (or more to taste) crumbled blue cheese (we used Maytag Blue)

In a large bowl, combine water, yeast and honey and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of oil; let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining flower and salt and knead until smooth. Transfer dough to oiled bowl, cover with plastic and let stand for 1 hour.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 TBS olive oil. Add thinly sliced onion, cover and cook over low-moderate heat, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add sugar, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown (10-20 additional minutes). Set onions aside.

Preheat oven to 450°. Oil a 9 x 13 inch rimmed baking sheet or baking pan. Transfer the dough to the pan and press down to fit. Dimple the dough all over with finger tips and drizzle with 2 TBS of olive oil. Let dough rise until puffed, about 20-30 minutes.

Scatter onions over dough. Arrange pear slices over onions and top with crumbled blue cheese. If desired, drizzle with additional 1-2 TBS olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Transfer to a rack to cool and remove from pan after 15 minutes.