Garlic & Rosemary Focaccia
A light and buttery focaccia with the kind of authentic, rustic flavours that feed your soul! This beautiful focaccia can be varied with seasonal toppings to ensure it delivers on taste every time.
There’s something about a freshly baked focaccia that brings serious joy to the table. Crusty on the top and sides, well risen, soft and aerated inside. It’s a thing of beauty that never ceases to get polished off in one hungry sitting.
I made this one with simple garlic and rosemary but I love to vary the toppings depending on what’s available locally/seasonally. Cherry tomatoes in summer with fresh herbs and a balsamic glaze, sweet figs in Autumn with the best crumbly cheese and olives I can find. The best part of baking focaccia is experimenting with different flavours to see what sings together. Sweet with savoury, oozy and jammy, cheesy and bubbly - go for a bit of what you fancy and I can guarantee you it won’t hang around for long…
The key to a great result is to use an active and bubbly starter. If you want a good rise and those satisfying crispy bubbles on top, that bad boy needs to be risen, smokin’ and ready to roll! An overnight levain can also do the job nicely, just be sure to use a high protein strong white bread flour in the mix and leave it for a good 12 hours to get active.
It’s beautiful with a homemade pasta or served with soup. I also like to drizzle my homemade pesto over the top and finish it at the table with some freshly grated parmesan.
Tip - go all out on the oil! This will ensure the focaccia doesn’t stick to your baking pan. You can use a dish (which will give a deeper rise) or bake it on a flat tray. I prefer the latter as A) it’s easier to remove and serve and B) it looks a little more rustic in style.
INGREDIENTS:
75g active sourdough starter
375g water (warmed to work with room temperature)
25g honey
500g strong white bread flour
12g sea salt
Olive oil
Toppings: garlic, rosemary, parmesan, slow roasted tomatoes, olives etc.
METHOD:
In a bowl , whisk together the starter, water and honey. Mix in the flour and slat with a spoon, then use your hands to fully combine and form a dough.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel and allow to rest in a warm place for 1 hour.
After an hour, use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. It’ll feel sticky - slightly wet your hands to make life a bit easier!
Remove the dough and give the bowl a good oil, put the dough back into the bowl and cover with an oiled piece of cling film. Leave to rest overnight in a warm spot in the kitchen (I use the spot under my boiler).
By morning the dough should have risen to 2 or 3 times the size. Now you can prep it for baking: Use your hands to oil a deep pan or baking sheet, evenly coating the bottom and sides. Remove the dough from the bowl and add to the pan, flipping to ensure both sides are nicely oiled. Cover the pan and leave to rise again for around 2 hours.
Heat the oven to 220C and line up your toppings. Now comes the fun part - dimpling and decorating the focaccia! Use your oiled fingers to wiggle into the dough, creating beautifully organic dimples whilst the dough starts to expand and move outwards. Keep working until you get the size you’re chasing - filling a deep pan entirely, but creating a more rustic shape on a sheet pan.
Now use your fingers to press the toppings into the dough. It doesn’t matter if they’re not evenly distributed, in fact it’s better if they aren’t - adds to the rustic feel.
Bake the focaccia for 30 minutes until it’s nicely brown and crispy and bubbly on top. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and cut into generous hunks of bread for your finest folks to grab and swoop into their choice of dip. Complete joy!