holy foccacia

I think it's about time I did another recipe as I haven't done one for ages. Sarah and I found ourselves at a loose end on Thursday so decided to give focaccia bread a go. I have only made bread once and this was last week and it wasn't really real bread... It was bread sticks. But they were excellent so now I think I'm a pro at this baking malarkey. 

So anyway, we gathered together our ingredients which included artichoke, sundries tomatoes and olives, and set out to make our dough. To make a large foccacia you will need:

500g strong flour

7g fast action yeast

1 heaped tsp salt

Rosemary 

Artichoke

Sundried tomatoes

Parmesan

Tip the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre of your hill. Add your salt and yeast and gradually pour in 350ml of tepid water. Bring the mixture together with a spoon, then with your hands. This is sticky but it does get less so after a while. But hey, we all like to get a bit sticky in the kitchen now and again! 

                     

Now you need to knead your dough. Get those guns working, you'll be doing this for 10 minutes. Who needs dumb bells when you have a little foccacia to produce?! 

                   

Now you need to let your dough prove. Grease a bowl with olive oil and pop the little bundle of soft dough into the centre. Cover with cling and then leave it in a warm place for an hour. 

                   

It will double in size and be springy to touch. And it will begin to smell super yeasty. Mmm mmmmm!

Whilst the dough is proving you can chop all of your yummy bits up.

                    

                     

                     

After an hour take out your baby and roll out into a rectangle shape. In half of the dough place your goodies. 

                     

                     

                     

Fold the other half over... It will now resemble what I can only describe as a calzone. 

                     

Cling this again and leave to prove for a further 30 minutes. Once fully proven make little dents with your finger and put your rosemary inside them. Coarsley grate some Parmesan and sprinkle on top, along with a generous pinch of sea salt.

Preheat the oven to 220* and pop the dough in for just 15 minutes. Do keep an eye on it though as sometimes they cook quicker than expected. You want it to be soft to touch and golden. Take it out the oven and leave to cool. Et voilà! The perfect spring foccacia. 

                

                

We may or may not have eaten the majority of this whilst watching the first series of Sex and the City on Thursday evening... And Friday morning... Who says we're back at work hey! 

Sorry for the lull in posts, I'll try to be better this week. 

L.