Recipe courtesy of Trybe.
Frightful Focaccia
https://try.be/
A really simple but delicious Italian bread. Shockingly soft and salty, riddled with wicked tomatoes and spider's legs! ;) Makes 1 large focaccia - about 9 large slices.
4 cups strong white flour
1 bag of dry yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups warm water
1 punnet of cherry or plum tomatoes
fresh rosemary
coarse and fine salt
olive oil and extra virgin olive oil
Method:
In a small bowl combine yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup of warm water. Set aside until foamy. In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and foamy yeast water, along with enough of the water to make a sticky dough. I usually use two cups of water in total. Knead by hand, or using a stand mixer for about 3 mins. Cover the bowl with cling film, and leave in a warm place for about an hour. Knead the dough again for about a minute, and then press out onto a sheet pan or large over dish. (This will be the tray that the focaccia will be baked on) The dough will be very sticky, so using oiled hands will help to shape it to fit the tray. Press the tomatoes into the dough, leaving roughly even space between them. Remember that this is homemade, so it doesn't need to be perfect :) Break off the rosemary leaves, and position around each tomato to look like the legs of a spider. It's not necessary to do every tomato, just enough for a nice effect. Cover again, loosely this time with oiled cling film, and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 mins. Once the dough has risen for the second time, remove the cling film, and with an oiled finger, press small divots into the dough. Drizzle a with olive oil, so that the small divots fill up. Sprinkle the whole dough lightly with fine salt, about a tablespoon should do it. Do the same with a teaspoon of course salt. Bake in a 200-degree oven until golden brown all over, about 30-40 mins. Remove from the oven, and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil. The warm bread will soak up the oil making it delicious and moist. Leave to cool in the pan. Cut and serve warm, or store in an air tight container.