Focaccia Bread

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Focaccia is one of the easiest breads to make and one of the most comforting because you can tailor it to your own taste by popping your favourite toppings on. From a simple garlic and rosemary topping with lashings of sea-salt, to a more time-consuming but equally as tasty Caramelised Onion and Goats Cheese, the possibilities are endless and a warm slab or two of this fresh out of the oven and dunked in good quality olive oil is an absolute treat.

Today I’m feeding the masses with my Focaccia because I wanted a reason to make several toppings, but the recipe I’m sharing gives one massive sheet pan size loaf, or two family size loaves.

A lot of people have asked me if I use bread flour. Sometimes is the answer - mostly though I use normal all purpose flour and create a sponge first. This is a flour, yeast, water and sugar mixture that rises first before you add the rest of the flour and yeast - this seems to relax the gluten in the flour and allow it to stretch creating holes in the dough which makes it a lot less dense. You don’t have to do this step, you can just mix everything and let it rise. It is easy to make the sponge though and it is best made the night before and left on the counter.

When it comes to topping, feel free to add whatever you want. Let’s talk olive oil - this is key and a good quality rich olive oil goes a long way as a topping - don’t be shy with the olive oil - forget drizzling just glob that stuff on. The classic focaccia is sea salt, olive oil and rosemary. I’ve also made caramelised onion and goats cheese, pesto and oven-dried tomatoes and Zaatar - a middle eastern herb mix that is lovely mixed with loads of olive oil. And one of my favourites is a mixture of roast pumpkin, sweet potato, roast garlic and herbs.

Enjoy and

Happy Cooking

gill

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Focaccia Bread

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For the Sponge

  • 1/2 cup warm water

  • 1 cup flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon yeast

  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

For the Loaves

  • 1/2 cup warm water

  • 2 1/2 cups flour

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

  1. Mix the sponge ingredients together and leave in a warm place overnight or for an hour in the morning. Mix it in a bigger bowl than you think you need though as it will double or even triple in size.

  2. For the loaves - mix the warm water with the yeast and sugar and let stand for 10 minutes. Add the sponge (that has been resting). Add flour, salt, and olive oil and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. (I do this in the mixer with a dough hook)

  3. Pop the dough into an oiled bowl and rest until doubled in size (1 - 2 hours).

  4. Working gently, tip onto an oiled surface, cut in half, shape into 2 loaves and place onto baking parchment on a tray. Using your finger, poke dents into the dough all over (push right to the tray). top with your choice of toppings, sprinkle with sea salt and rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.

  5. Bake at 190 degrees celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes until the top is golden and the bread sounds hollow when you tap it.

  6. Slice it, dunk it, and eat it. Enjoy.