Non-Vegan
Vegan
Gluten free
Rosemary &
Sea Salt Focaccia
"It's Bread Week in the Bake off tent".
Yup, I thought I would do something a little bit different this week and attempt bread. And who doesn't like bread? Crazy people that's who. And my house now smells incredible which is a nice wee bonus. Also, saying "I just whipped up a rosemary and sea salt focaccia" sounds very impressive so if you are having guests round or a Christmas party or something, I think this would be a good one to go for.
I always think of bread as being something really complicated to make and getting all confused by proving times and all that jazz but honestly, this was really simple to make. You only have to knead the bread for 5 minutes, then you hide it away in a warm place to prove for a bit (this is when you have a coffee and watch a couple of episodes of Friends), pop it in the oven and BOOM, bread is ready. There is also a fun part where you basically just get to punch the dough for a bit so stay tuned for that because it's my favourite part. Not too sure what that says about me, other than maybe I've been watching a bit too much of The Walking Dead. On that creepy and totally unrelated to bread note, let's get started.
INGREDIENTS
240ml WARM WATER
1 TSP ACTIVE DRY YEAST
300g PLAIN FLOUR
2 TBSP OLIVE OIL (PLUS EXTRA TO
OIL BOWL AND TOPPING)
3/4 TSP SALT
SEA SALT FOR TOPPING
2 TBSP ROSEMARY
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Add the yeast to the jug of warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
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In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and olive oil. You don't need to use special strong white bread flour or anything, plain flour (the one always in a red bag) works perfectly.
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Pour in the yeasty (eww that sounds horrible) water to the dry ingredients and give it a stir until the mixture starts to form a sticky dough. It should look kinda weird and bubbly at this point.
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Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes or so. You want to try and stretch the dough out a bit as you knead.
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Once it looks less sticky and is starting to form a soft little ball, pop the ball into a bowl that has been oiled with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Make sure to oil the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it to prove somewhere warm for 1 hour.
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Oil a 10 x 9 inch (just anything roughly that size will be fine) baking dish. Pop the dough into the dish and press it down into the sides of the tray. You then want to punch the dough a little bit deflate it. Sounds a bit mad, I know. Then cover with the tea towel again and leave for 25 minutes. Preheat the oven to 210°C (190°C fan, gas mark 7).
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Next, use your knuckles to create the signature little focaccia dimples in the dough, pushing almost all the way to the bottom of the dish. Drizzle over some olive oil and add the rosemary and sea salt.
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Bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy! x
