Rosemary and sea salt focaccia
Rosemary & Sea Salt Focaccia
The best Focaccia has a light, airy crumb beneath a golden
crust, moist with extra virgin olive oil, a slight sourdough taste
and crunchy flakes of sea salt. This dough is sticky, but do not
be tempted to add more flour as it will make the final bread
very dense. Just trust the recipe and you will be rewarded with
a great version of this classic Italian flat bread.
Ingredients
- 4 sprigs rosemary leaves, picked
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 15g fresh yeast
- 380ml water, at room temperature
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 550g strong white bread flour
- 10g table salt
- Sea salt flakes for sprinkling
Instructions
1. The night before baking, mix the rosemary and olive oil. Leave to infuse. 2. The following day, crumble the yeast into a jug with the sugar and water. Stir until completely dissolved. 3. In a stand mixer, stir the table salt into the flour until completely dispersed, then add the yeast liquid. Knead at low speed for five minutes. 4. Turn up the speed to high, and knead for ten more minutes, adding the rosemary and it's oil with two minutes to go. 5. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for 2 hours, punching the air out of the dough halfway through.6. Ease the dough on to a lined and oiled baking tray (40
x 30cm). Gently manipulate over as much of the tray as
possible, trying not to knock out the air. Cover with
a damp cloth and leave to prove for a further 45 minutes. You
should now be able to stretch it across the whole baking tray. 7. Preheat the oven to 200C.8. Dip your fingers in water and make dimples all over by
pressing straight down to the tray. Drizzle over another tablespoon of oil, then sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until light golden - the base
should sound hollow when tapped. Leave to cool for
20 minutes on a rack. 10. Slice into small squares and serve with olive oil and
balsamic vinegar for dipping.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 1 Loaf