focaccia
Focaccia is one of my favourite breads to make. It requires a lot less work than most breads as there’s no shaping, no extended fermentation, and a limited amount of kneading. You can make a batch of basic focaccia in around 2 hours, with most of that time spent allowing it to rest and grow.
It’s also a super versatile bread as you can top it with whatever you fancy. I love doing one loaf with lots of rosemary and flaky sea salt, and another with some homemade sun-dried tomatoes. You can then eat it plain, dip it in oil, use it to mop up pasta sauce, or eat it however you fancy.
The secret to good tasting focaccia is the quality of the olive oil you use. This will go into the dough itself, and also coat the bread, so it is worth trying to get one with a bit of flavour. As well as that, if you do have a bit more time to prep, allowing the dough to spend 8-16 hours in the fridge (overnight) during the first prove will really enhance the flavour. It’s not 100% necessary, but can make much tastier bread if you have the prep time available.
for the bread
500g white bread flour
300-400ml room temperature water
7g fast action yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
toppings
olive oil
flaky sea salt
rosemary (optional)
sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
pitted black olives (optional)
sweet roasted peppers (optional)
method
Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast to one side, the salt to the other.
Mix each half separately, then mix the whole thing together. It might feel a little strange, but keeping the salt and yeast apart for the first mix will stop the salt from killing the yeast.
Make a bit of a well in the middle of the flour and add the olive oil along with 250ml of the water.
Mix this all together, adding little bits of water if needed, until you get a nice (slightly sticky) dough. You probably won’t need the full 400ml of water, so just add it gradually after the first 250ml.
Lightly flour your work surface and tip the dough onto it.
Knead it for somewhere between 5-10 minutes, until the dough is soft and much less sticky. A note here, the dough will go through a super sticky stage and feel like it’ll never come together. Feel free to add a little flour to your hands and drag it all together again. You need to work through this sticky stage until the dough is more interested in sticking to itself than to the surface or your hands.
Put the dough in a clean bowl and let it prove for an hour-or-so, until it has doubled in size. If you have time, you can do this stage in the fridge and leave it for 8-16 hours until it doubles. This will enhance the flavour, however, it is not 100% necessary.
Once it has doubled, oil your square baking tin (or tins if you are making 2 smaller ones).
Tip your dough onto your surface (cutting in half if needed) and gently stretch into a rectangle of a similar size to your baking tin.
Place the dough in the tin and stretch out to the edges.
Cover with a tea towel and allow to prove for 45 minutes to an hour, or until it has grown by around 50%.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 220c.
Once proved, drizzle olive oil on top of your dough and give it a rub to coat the top.
Using your fingertips, press into the dough a whole bunch, to create the dimples we all know and love.
Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and add your chosen topping.
Bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway if needed, until lovely and golden.
Remove from the oven and drizzle over a little more olive oil.
Let it cool slightly, but eat whilst soft and warm.
