There is this bakery near where I live that makes the most perfect and wonderful foccacia I have ever tasted. It’s so good that people order their sandwiches days ahead of time and queue down the road for hours on Saturdays in the cold and pouring rain. It’s such a long process to be able to buy anything from there, and having three children under the age of four and a full time job meant that I just wasn’t able to for a long time.
This was actually quite a big motivating factor in my recent efforts to master bread making. I thought, if I can’t go there and buy these delicious things, then how hard can it be to learn to make them myself?
After lots of trying and testing recipes, once I figured out the perfect combination, the answer is not that hard at all! The only thing is, you have to start making the dough the day before you want to eat it. This recipe makes a giant thick slab, so it’s perfect for any party, gathering or a large hungry family like mine. You can halve the recipe though if you’re completely mad and want less of it.
1kg strong white bread flour
20g salt
16g instant dried yeast
900g warm water
6-8 tbsp olive oil
Rosemary
Salt
Whole garlic cloves, olives, jalapeños or any other topping of your choice
Put the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer and stir to combine. Pour in the water and stir well to form a shaggy, wet dough. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. Knead the dough for 10 minutes using the dough hook attachment of the stand mixer, or with very well oiled hands, slapping it around the bowl until it becomes stretchy and dough-like (though it will still be quite wet and sticky).
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to prove in the fridge for 12–24 hours (mine is set to 4 degrees C). This may seem insane but this is when the magic truly happens and the dough becomes all bubbly and jiggly and everything you want in a foccacia.
About 2-3 hours before you are ready to bake it, line a baking tin with baking parchment and grease it well with olive oil. Pour the dough onto the prepared tin and drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Leave the dough to prove again in the tin for 2–3 hours. It should be lovely and wobbly and full of bubbles.
Preheat your oven to 200C. Before baking, press your fingers into the surface of the dough all over the top to create dimples and even more bubbles. Cover the top with flaky sea salt and drizzle with another couple of tablespoons of olive oil. I like to push sprigs of rosemary and whole peeled garlic cloves into the dimples in the dough to infuse it with even more flavour. Olives, sliced onions,various cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes and jalapenos also work well.
Bake for 30–35 minutes until the bread is a deep golden brown all over. Remove from the oven and take it out of the baking tin. Return to the oven, laying the bread directly onto one of the wire oven racks without the baking parchment or tin and bake for 5 more minutes before serving for best results – it will be beatifully crisp on the outside and fluffy and pillowy inside. Eat and enjoy as an accompaniment to almost any meal, or use it to make the most incredible sandwiches. Enjoy listening to all your friends and family thanking you for making it.