This past weekend, Hitchen and I had an awesome meal at Le Mary Celeste , which included focaccia in lieu of the usual baguette. We both enjoyed it so much, that I decided to make some focaccia at home. It’s pretty simple and really delicious, and I already know I’ll be making this regularly!
INGREDIENTS
makes 2 large loaves
660 g strong bread flour (use T65 in France)
14 g (2 sachets) dry yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon hot chili flakes
400 mL lukewarm water
2 teaspoons salt
135 g pitted black olives, halved
more olive oil for drizzling
more salt for topping
DIRECTIONS
Combine the flour, yeast, olive oil, rosemary, chili flakes, and about three-quarters of the water in the bowl of an electric mixer. Use a wooden spoon to combine the ingredients until they form a shaggy dough.
Add the remaining water and the salt, attach the bowl to the electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, and mix on low speed for 5 minutes.
Temporarily remove the dough from the bowl (it’ll be quite sticky, so be sure to place it on a floured or oiled surface), and brush the inside of bowl with olive oil. Place the dough back into the bowl, along with the olives, and continue to mix on medium-low speed for another 5 minutes.
Place the dough into a new, well-oiled bowl, drape loosely with oiled plastic wrap, cover with a kitchen towel, and place it somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size – about 1 ½ hours.
Once risen, punch the dough down, and dump it onto an oiled plate. Cut it into two pieces, and press each piece into a flat rectangle (about 8″ x 14″) on two separate parchment-lined baking sheets. Use the tips of your fingers to make indents all over each piece. Cover each piece with oiled plastic wrap, and allow it to rise again, for about another 1 ½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 220°C (~425°F). Drizzle each loaf with olive oil, and sprinkle the tops with salt. Bake for ~20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until golden brown. Once baked, drizzle each loaf with a little more olive oil, and then cool slightly on a wire rack.
Enjoy warm!
PS: Here’s the printable version of this recipe!
