Italian Focaccia Bread

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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.

Ingredients

500 grammes strong white bread flour

400 millilitres cold water

2 sachets (or 14 grammes total) dried easy blend yeast

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Olive oil to drizzle

Fine sea salt for sprinkling

Method

1. Place the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and 300 mililitres 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. (about 1 hour).

5.  Line two large baking sheets with baking paper. Tip the dough out of the bowl and divide 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