Two very good Focaccia base recipes
One yeast and one sourdough
A focaccia straight out of the oven is a thing of beauty: light, crisp on the outside and that delicate chewy texture. Here are two foolproof recipes. The first is made from a sourdough starter, and the second using dried yeast, which I made this week and have another batch in the fridge as I write this for tomorrow morning.
It’s often enough just to simply season with salt flakes and olive oil, although I’m a fan of switching up the toppings. Combinations such as honey, thyme and blueberries/ Bacon and maple/ olive and lemon/ anchovy and herb oil can all be exceptional.
Below is a recipe for veggie patch focaccia, which is fantastic with a little herb salad and boiled eggs. And the other is probably my favorite so far: fennel, orange and rosemary, using dried yeast.
Breakfast veggie patch sourdough focaccia
Recipe:
150g starter
380g bread flour
250ml tepid filtered water)
12g salt (plus a pinch to season on top)
Topping
100g handful of cherry or chopped tomatoes
3 tbsp olives
A handful of green shallots and leafy greens
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt flakes
Method
In a big bowl mix the water with the starter.
Mix in your flour, leave for 20 mins then mix in the salt.
After 2 hours, wet your fingers, and perform a couple of stretch and folds on itself, turning the bowl after each fold.
Repeat again two hours later.
Leave in fridge overnight. Next morning, grab a coffee, and take the dough from the fridge.
Fold on itself a couple of times.
Pop onto a tray, pour on a little olive oil and press down to cover the tray.
Leave to prove for about 40 mins, and top it with ingredients of your choice like herbs, olives and salt flakes. At this point, preheat your oven to 220 deg.
When ready, bake for around 35 - 40 minutes.
It should sound hollow once cooked.
Once out of the oven, add a little more olive oil and salt flakes.
Leave to cool slightly before slicing.
Fennel, orange and rosemary focaccia
Recipe
500 bread flour
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