There’s something really indulgent about Focaccia, even the baking process with its many wells of oils and herbs you just know it is going to be something very special.

I always used to shy away from making this as I could never get the consistency quite right, with the chewy oily and at the same time light texture.. but with this recipe I’ve finally cracked it!

So get your Italian vibes going… be bold and try out this super easy recipe that i’m sure everyone will love! Don’t forget to get creative with your toppings – my favourites are included in the recipe below, but you really can add anything that you love!

Ingredients

  • 500 grams Tipo 00 Italian Flour
  • 300ml Warm Water
  • 1 Tbsp. Sugar
  • 1 Tsp. Salt
  • ½ Block Fresh Yeast (12 grams)
  • 60 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salamoia Topping

  • 4 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • 4 Tbsp. Water
  • 1 Tsp. Sea Salt

Toppings

  • 1 handful of Fresh Rosemary
  • 1 Roasted Red Pepper
  • 1 Roasted Yellow Pepper
  • 5 Cherry Tomatoes Halved
  • Provolone Cheese 50 grams

Method

Add Flour, Sugar and Water to your mixer and mix on a low speed, while mixing crumble in the Fresh Yeast and continue to mix together until it starts to come together to form a dough ball. Next add in the Olive Oil and continue to knead for around 6 minutes until a smooth springy dough is formed. Then add in the 1 Tsp. of Sea Salt and continue to knead it into the dough for a further 1 to 2 minutes.

If the dough is still very sticky at this stage (you wouldn’t be able to remove from the bowl without dough sticking to everything!) then add 1 to 2 more Tbsp. of Flour. If it has come together but is still just a little wet / sticky this is fine. Remove from the mixing bowl and place in a lightly oiled large bowl with a piece of loose cling film on top to cover it.

Leave the dough to rise for around 90 minutes until double inside and it starts to look bubbly/spongey.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place it in the prepared baking tray. Drizzle a little Olive Oil directly on the dough and then stretch it out to fit the baking tray. Cover with Cling Wrap and again leave for another 1 hour to rise again. Make sure you rub some Olive Oil on the Cling Wrap before putting it directly on the dough – this will ensure it comes off easily and the dough doesn’t stick to it.

Now get your toppings ready – you will see from mine I did a half and half combination, but it really is your choice on what you like. To do the same version I did just slice up the Roasted Peppers into strips, slice the Cherry Tomatoes in Half and slice the Cheese into strips. Then on half of the Focaccia just place the cheese slices all over one half and top them with the sliced Peppers and Tomatoes. On the other half make holes using your fingertips across the rest of the dough (you want to have a hole about every 5cm or so apart). Fill these wholes with a few sprigs of Fresh Rosemary.

Cover the prepared Focaccia with the same Olive Oil covered Cling Wrap and just leave it to proof while the Oven Pre-Heats to 200 Degrees Celsius.

Once the Oven is hot there is just one last step before you’re ready to bake it. This is the Salamoia stage and is so important with Focaccia if you want to get that authentic spongey yet crispy texture. A Salamoia is essentially just Olive Oil and Water being emulsified together, so just place the Olive Oil and Water into a jug and beat with a fork for a minute or so until it has emulsified. Add in the Sea Salt and then pour this all over the Focaccia – on both halves.

Now place in the Oven and bake for 15 – 20 minutes until a light golden-brown colour. I did mine for 16 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool until you can take it out the tray and then serve with a sprinkle of Sea Salt Flakes!

Tips

  • I always use Fresh Yeast in my baking – I don’t know why but instant yeast never really works out as well for me. I use half a cube of Kronjast Yeast and it always comes out amazing!
  • Use good quality Olive Oil – this is essentially an Olive Oil bread, so it makes a big difference on the flavour.
  • You can put any toppings you like – Olives, Sunblush Tomatoes, Fresh Tomatoes, Blue Cheese, Mozzarella – they will all be delicious!
  • When you are letting the dough, rise make sure you cover it in Cling Wrap to stop it drying out. When you do this though always ensure the Cling Wrap is Oiled as otherwise as the Dough rises it will stick to it.
  • For the Roasted Peppers in my recipe I just use ready Roasted Peppers from a jar.