Best focaccia ever! Or at least of what we’ve tasted so far, and we’ve tasted a lot! This easy-to-follow recipe produces a crunchy but crumbly crusted focaccia, with a sweet saltiness that will go with anything.
Makes: 8 slices
Level of difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time 45 mins (plus 1 hr to let it proof)
Ingredients
3 tsp dry active yeast
1.5 tsp caster sugar
150ml lukewarm water
1.5 cup self-raising flour (210g)
4 tbsp olive oil
5.5 tsp flaked sea salt
2 tsp of rosemary sprigs
Recipe:
- Pour 3 teaspoons of active dry yeast and 1.5 teaspoons of caster sugar into a mug, mix well.
- Add 100ml of lukewarm water and gently stir. Leave it to sit for 10mins. It should bubble and increase in volume. If not, the yeast is either dead, the water was too hot or it was stirred too much. Change what’s required and try again. Once happy, leave for now and move onto step 3.
- Pour 1.5 cups of self raising flour into a bowl, make a well in the middle of the flour, and pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Next pour in 50ml of lukewarm water and the now frothy yeast (including any liquid below the froth). Mix well, but do not whisk or stir heavily. It should be a sticky (but not sloppy) dough ball.
- Clean a space on the kitchen worktop and sprinkle on a coating of flour. Tip the dough onto the worktop and knead – this involves stretching the dough with your knuckles and folding back onto itself. To do this push down with your knuckles and forward onto your palms, then bring the front of the dough back onto itself – keep repeating. Eventually the dough will hold nicely together and will be less sticky.
- Put the dough back into the bowl, and cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Leave for 1 hr to rise.
- Again, clear a space on the worktop, and sprinkle lightly with flour. Tip the dough, which should have now risen, onto the worktop. Now gently stretch the dough (but don’t break or tear it), and fold in a teaspoon of flaked salt. Repeat this two more times to make sure there is an even distribution of salt. Gently knead only a few more times.
- Taking a thin tray with low sides (about 2cm in depth, and about 19cm width x 29cm length) lightly coat it in olive oil. Then, taking the dough, gently stretch it to cover the entire base. Make sure it’s close to the same depth throughout.
- Pierce the dough in several places, making tiny holes. Next, sprinkle a tablespoon of olive oil across the top – don’t forget the edges – and spread to cover the entire surface. Turn the oven to 200°C Fan.
- Wash and dry the rosemary, and place one to two pieces in the holes you made earlier. Don’t fill every hole, but make sure there is an even distribution. Next, sprinkle on 1.5 teaspoons of flaked salt.
- Put in the oven for 15 mins.
- When cooling, sprinkle on a teaspoon of flaked salt, and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil across the top.
Leave to cool before breaking into your focaccia
