Italian Focaccia Bread
This is a wonderful bread to eat with pasta. It’s soft and can be flavoured with your favourite herbs, garlic and any other toppings.
- 500 grammes strong white bread flour
- 400 millilitres cold water
- 2 sachets dried easy blend yeast
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- olive oil (to drizzle)
- fine sea salt (for sprinkling)
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Place the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and 300 millilitres of the water into a large bowl. Gently stir with your hand or a wooden spoon to form a dough, then knead the dough in the bowl for five minutes, gradually adding the remaining water.
- 2
Stretch the dough by hand in the bowl, tuck the sides into the centre, then turn the bowl 80 degrees and repeat the process for about five minutes.
- 3
Tip the dough onto an oiled work surface and continue kneading for five more minutes.
- 4
Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size. This should take about an hour.
- 5
Line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Tip the dough out of the bowl and divide it into two portions. Flatten each portion onto a baking sheet, pushing to the corners, then leave to prove for 20 minutes.
- 6
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Drizzle the loaves with oil, sprinkle with fine sea salt, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve hot or warm.
Recipe: By Tim Aldridge of The Bread Club Hackney
Photography: Lauren Anders Brown www.collaborateideasimages.com
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