Handmade Focaccia

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Well that itch to make something in the kitchen got the better of me again, and after looking through the cupboards I decided bread would probably be a better option than cakes because we’re more likely to actually finish it. 

I have to say I’m rather bad at actually eating all the stuff I make, I need more people around that I can feed…

A properly made focaccia – Credit

Anyway I’d seen a masterclass on the the ‘Great British Bakeoff’ that was on TV a little while ago about how to make focaccia, and I still hadn’t made it yet so I decided I’d give it a go. So Focaccia with olives, garlic, rosemary and herbs. Here we go! Lets hope it turns out like that one above…

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I don’t think I actually followed a single recipe for this…I had two recipes in my recipe book (Rosemary focaccia and saffron focaccia) plus the flour/yeast packages. So it’s a little bit hit and miss to remember exactly what I did. 

I used dried yeast and white bread flour (mainly because that’s what I had in my cupboard – not sure that focaccia would work as well with wholemeal but you never know..)

Rough recipe:
450g bread flour
10ml dried yeast
approx 200ml warm water (for the yeast)
teaspoon sugar (for the yeast)
teaspoon salt
olive oil
handful garlic cloves, chopped
handful olives, chopped (can use black or green – I used green because I had them)
spices – pepper, ground garlic, mixed herbs – anything that takes your fancy really
few pinches of rosemary

Preheat the oven to 200degC/425degF and prep a baking tray by oiling it, and then coating lightly in flour to make it more non-stick.

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Spices, rosemary and some garlic paste

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Chopped garlic and olives
The dried yeast was put in a bowl with the warm water and the sugar and kept warm to activate the yeast, this needs to be left until it has froth across the surface.

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Whilst that is activating combine all the dry ingredients and olives etc. 
Mix them in a bowl to make sure they’re even distributed and not clumped together.
Once the yeast has activated add the mixture to the dry ingredients and bring them all together into a nice dough ball. At this point add a small amount of olive oil (approx 30ml).
One of the key aspects of focaccia is that the dough should be a wet dough, so when kneading you can put oil down instead of flour because this won’t dry the dough out.
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Knead the dough lightly for approx 5 mins, pulling the dough out to stretch it well.
After kneading it, place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover in a warm place until it has doubled in size. 
This can take quite a while so don’t worry if it doesn’t happen immediately.
Then turn the dough back out onto the surface and knead again. Then put the dough into the baking tray using your fingers to push it out to the corners.
Try to make sure it’s relatively even across the whole tray. Then push indentations into the dough with your fingers, don’t be afraid to push them all the way down.
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Then re-cover the tray and leave in the warm for approx 20-30 minutes.
Then remake the indentations with your fingers and drizzle olive oil over the top of the focaccia. 
You can also add sea salt and cracked black pepper to the top of the focaccia if you wish.
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Now it’s time for the oven. 
Bake the focaccia for 12-15mins until golden brown on the surface and cooked. 
Dependant on your oven it might take slightly longer, just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too crisp. 
Once cooked turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool slightly.
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Ta- da! Homemade focaccia. 
It’s best eaten when still slightly warm.
It goes really well with some nice dips, we had onion & garlic with it. Yum.

What are your experiences with Focaccia? Do you use different spices/toppings?
Have you ever made it? If not hopefully this will show you it’s not too difficult, and tastes pretty good!
Nikki
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3 thoughts on “Handmade Focaccia

  1. Nikki

    🙁 Well I'd say Pippa is more of the bread-maker than me, but this bread was definitely a very wet dough, I added a lot more liquid than I thought I'd need.

    Reply
  2. chelsea

    I love homemade focaccia! It's so time consuming but completely worth it every time…reminds me I need to make another batch! Looks like it turned out fantastic!

    Reply

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