Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread made using the same recipe as pizza dough. Served as an antipasto, appetiser, table bread, or snack.
You can add your own toppings. This one just uses flaky sea salt and fresh rosemary
Make the dough
This is a 70% hydration, so if you need more (or less) the water weight is 0.7 x the flour weight In a jug, mix a 7gm of yeast (a sachet) into 280ml of lukewarm water and leave for a few minutes to activate.
Put 400gm strong bread flour into a bowl and make a a well in the middle.
Pour in a tablespoon of Olive oil into the well.
Pour the yeast water into the well. Using a wooden spoon, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and mix it into the liquid. Keep mixing, turning the bowl and drawing the flour in, and when it all starts to come together, turn it out onto a floured surface and work thee dough with a bench scraper into a sort of ball. for a few minutes. Cover and let it rest for 10mins (the flour will continue to hydrate)
After 10 mins take the dough and Knead for 10+ mins or until you have a smooth, springy dough. Now put the dough into an oiled bowl and allow to rise for about an hour (or longer – depends on a lot of things, so wait until its doubled in size)
Preheat the oven to 220C.
Form the focaccia
Prepare a 36 cm x 26cm metal tray by liberally coating thee tray with olivee oil.
Now oil the work surface and take the dough and gently stretch into a rectangle to fit the metal tray.
Place the dough into the metal tray gently stretching it into the corners, now cover and allow to rise for another hour (or until it has puffed back up)
After the dough in the tray has puffed back up, gently push your fingers in around the surface to create the classic dimples of the focaccia.
Take the rosemary and insert lots of sprigs of rosemary into the bread. Drizzle with more Olive oil and sprinkle sea salt flakes over thee top as well.
Cook the Focaccia
Now place the tray into the preheated oven for 25 mins.
After 20-30 mins or when the bread has become golden brown, remove from the oven and sprinkle the bread with more sea salt flakes and then generously drizzle the bread with olive oil.
Remove the bread from tray and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 5 mins before eating it all in one go.
Focaccia
Equipment
- Metal tray 36 x 26 cm
- wire rack
Ingredients
- 400 gm Bread flour
- 280 ml lukewarm water
- 7 gms dried yeast – 1 sachet
- 4 tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 30 g rosemary
Method
- Focaccia is a flat oven-baked Italian bread served as an antipasto, appetiser, table bread, or snack.
- You can add your own toppings. This one just uses flaky sea salt and fresh rosemary, try sliced olives or sundried tomatoes
Make the dough
- This is a 70% hydration, so if you need more (or less) the water weight is 0.7 x the flour weight In a jug, mix a 7gm of yeast (a sachet) into 280ml of lukewarm water and leave for a few minutes to activate.
- Put 400gm strong bread flour into a bowl and make a a well in the middle.
- Pour in a tablespoon of Olive oil into the well.
- Pour the yeast water into the well. Using a wooden spoon, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and mix it into the liquid. Keep mixing, turning the bowl and drawing the flour in, and when it all starts to come together, turn it out onto a floured surface and work thee dough with a bench scraper into a sort of ball. for a few minutes. Cover and let it rest for 10mins (the flour will continue to hydrate)
- After 10 mins take the dough and Knead for 10+ mins or until you have a smooth, springy dough. Now put the dough into an oiled bowl and allow to rise for about an hour (or longer – depends on a lot of things, so wait until its doubled in size)
- Preheat the oven to 220C.
Form the focaccia
- Prepare a 36 cm x 26cm metal tray by liberally coating thee tray with olivee oil.
- Now oil the work surface and take the dough and gently stretch into a rectangle to fit the metal tray.
- Place the dough into the metal tray gently stretching it into the corners, now cover and allow to rise for another hour (or until it has puffed back up)
- After the dough in the tray has puffed back up, gently push your fingers in around the surface to create the classic dimples of the focaccia.
- Take the rosemary and insert lots of sprigs of rosemary into the bread. Drizzle with more Olive oil and sprinkle sea salt flakes over thee top as well.
Cook the Focaccia
- Now place the tray into the preheated oven for 25 mins.
- After 20-30 mins or when the bread has become golden brown, remove from the oven and sprinkle the bread with more sea salt flakes and then generously drizzle the bread with olive oil.
- Remove the bread from tray and place on a wire rack to cool for at least 5 mins before eating it all in one go.
Nutrition
(All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more).