Easy Homemade Focaccia Recipe

Making your own bread is fun and very satisfying. Focaccia is one of my favourite types of bread, as it’s really tasty and very easy to make.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 6 oz (175g) Strong white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 g easy-blend yeast
• 2.5 tsp dried rosemary
• 100 ml hand-hot water
• 2.5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Sift the flour and most of the salt (reserving a little for sprinkling later) into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast, and 1.5 tsp dried rosemary.
2. Gradually stir in the water and 1.5 tbsp of the olive oil to make a soft dough.
3. Turn onto a floured surface and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. This should take about 5 minutes.
4. Shape into a round, of about 5 cm thick. Place on a greased (or baking paper covered) baking tray and prick all over with a fork.
5. Cover with greased clingfilm and leave in a warm place until doubled in size -8211; about 1.5 to 2 hrs.
6. Preheat the oven to 220° C/gas mark 7 or 200° C if you have a fan oven.
7. When risen, remove the clingfilm. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil over the bread and lightly spread out with your hands or a silicone brush. Sprinkle over the remaining rosemary and a couple of pinches of salt. If you have an olive oil spray, it's good to mist over the dried herbs before baking.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden and hollow-sounding when the base is tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tips

• You can adapt this recipe, by using different herbs and incorporating different extra ingredients into the bread. Substituting the rosemary for basil, and adding sun-dried tomatoes to the dough, makes a tasty variation.
• For extra flavour and decoration, you can top with olives before baking. Chopped peppers and onions also make great toppings.