Focaccia Bread – recipe

Focaccia Bread – recipe

Here is a recipe for one of my favourite breads.

Ingredients:

• 500g strong white flour
• 1 pack (7g) dried yeast
• 300ml warm water
• 4 tbsp good quality olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 3-4 rosemary sprigs
• Large pinch of sea salt

Method:

1. Sift the flour, yeast and salt together in a bowl.
2. Mix the oil and warm water together and pour onto the flour mix.
3. With clean hands, combine the ingredients and then knead on a floured board for at least 10 minutes. The dough starts off very wet and sticky, but it will become elastic and smooth.
4. Form the dough into a ball and place it into a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with greased cling film and set aside in a warm place.  Leave the dough to rise for at least an hour, until it has doubled in size.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl, and then lightly knead on a lightly floured surface for about 1 minute.
6. Place the dough in a large baking pan and gently shape to fit the pan.
7. Sprinkle the rosemary leaves as evenly as possible over the top.
8. Cover the baking pan with greased cling film and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes to proof again.
9. After the 2nd proofing, with the tips of your fingers, make dimples into the dough, pushing in some of the rosemary.
10. Drizzle over the olive oil.
11. Bake in a preheated oven, Gas mark 6, for 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
12. Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack.