Sophie cooks focaccia barese to accompany sea bream cooked on the barbecue.
Ingredients
To finish:
Method
- Oil a plate.
- Put the semolina flour/semolina and 00/strong flour, mashed potato and salt into a roomy mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in a good slurp of the water, then sprinkle in the yeast, crumbled if fresh. Use your fingers to cream the yeast into the water, then add the olive oil and enough warm water to make a soft, sticky dough – you’ll need somewhere between 150-200ml. Scrape out onto a floured worksurface and knead the dough as best you can. Slap it around, stretching, pulling up and folding, turning the dough as you work. Dust occasionally with a little flour but not too much. Keep going for some 5–10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Oil your hands generously, then fold the dough in on itself, pulling one side up and flopping it onto the dough. This smooths the dough out nicely to form a round palette of dough. Lay on the oiled plate and cover with the upturned bowl. Leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes until doubled in size.
- Pre-heat the oven to 250C (or a little higher if it will go there)/250Fan/Gas 8. Once the dough is ready, spoon a generous 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil into the baking/cake tin. Smear it around. Lay the palette of dough in the tin, then using the tips of your fingers, prod it out to fill the tin.
- Now take a tomato at a time and rip it apart with your fingers, allowing the juice to rain down on the surface of the focaccia, then dot the flesh of the tomatoes on the dough. Tilt and swirl the tin so that the juice from the tomatoes spreads right around the focaccia. Sprinkle with olives, drizzle over another tablespoon of olive oil and finish with a scattering of salt and lots of oregano.
- Choices, either bake straight away for a crunchier more biscuity focaccia or leave to rise for another 15-20 minutes for a puffier softer result. Give it a gentle swirl again before sliding it into the oven. Slide into the oven, close the door then reduce the heat if necessary to 250C/230 Fan/ Gas Mark 8. Bake for around 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and just firm in the centre. The tomatoes will blacken a little in the heat, but that’s fine.
- Let your focaccia cool until just bearable to handle, then carefully lever it out of the tin and transfer to a wire rack. Eat now or save for later.
Rate this recipe
Overall Rating:
4.50
(24)
