Rosemary Focaccia

I have made this bread for years and it's one of my favorites. This is the perfect bread to make on a rainy or snowy day when you just want to stay inside and read a good book.
Hint: I have made this bread with homemade mashed potatoes as well as with prepared instant potatoes. I find that the instant potatoes are easier and make a smoother dough. Homemade mashed potatoes tend to be lumpy no matter how much you mash them!)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (about 2 or 3 T.)
1 T. honey or corn syrup
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 t. salt
1 T. olive oil
1 C. mashed potatoes
2 1/2 C. all purpose flour (sometimes I use bread flour)
3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

Pour 1 C. boiling water over rosemary sprigs in a small bowl and let sit for 20 minutes or until the water is lukewarm. Remove rosemary from water, chop finely and set aside. Add honey to water. Put yeast in a large bowl and pour rosemary water over yeast. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy. Stir salt and 1 T. olive oil into yeast mixture. Add mashed potatoes, rosemary and enough flour to make a kneadable dough. Sometimes you may need more than just 2 1/2 C. flour, so just add flour 1/4 C. at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead dough for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Slather the dough with olive oil and place in a bowl. Cove the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and kneed for another minute. Add flour if sticky. Coat a 17 x 11 inch baking sheet with olive oil and stretch dough to edges. Drizzle a little more olive oil over dough if necessary and then sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and make small indentations with your index finger in the dough. Bake bread at 400 F. for 16-18 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly and cut into 12 pieces. Serve warm.