Rosemary focaccia
Rosemary focaccia is an Italian bread made using a generous quantity of extra virgin olive oil and topped with sprigs of fresh rosemary and sea salt. It is delicious served with pasta dishes, soups and salads.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 500 g bread flour
- 2½ teaspoon easy bake yeast
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 360 ml water approx
To oil the tin
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
To top the unbaked focaccia
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary approx
- 1½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Instructions
To prepare the dough
- Place the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl and mix.
- Heat the water to hand hot and start by adding 350ml to the bowl with the other ingredients. The water will be at the correct temperature when it is roughly the temperature of a hot bath. This will be warm enough to activate the yeast but not too hot to kill it.
- Mix with an electric mixer with dough hooks attached for around 3 to 4 minutes. The dough should be quite wet at this stage, if it isn't then add a little more water. If you don't have an electric mixer or don't wish to use one you can knead the dough by hand for around 10 minutes.
- Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place to prove for around an hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured board and fold over 3 to 4 times.
- Oil the baking tin with a generous amount of olive oil. Place the dough in the tin and stretch it to fit. Leave to prove in a warm place, for about 30 minutes to 1 hour by which time the dough should have risen slightly.
- Make dimples in the top of the dough taking care not to press the whole way through to the bottom. The dough will be sticky so dip your finger in olive oil first so that it doesn't stick to the dough. Place a small piece of rosemary into each of the dimples and drizzle 1 to 1.5 tablespoons olive oil over the top of the dough allowing it to settle into the dimples. Sprinkle flakes of sea salt over the top of the dough. The dough will look very oily but this is how it should be.
To bake the focaccia
- Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400oF, gas mark 6.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for around 20 minutes or until it is golden on top and firm to the touch.
- Leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Nutrition
Calories: 324kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 9gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 890mgPotassium: 99mgFiber: 3gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 0.02mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg
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