By Mrs Tombs (Deputy Catering Manager)
Each half term, we ask our students to vote for a nation they would like the Greens Team to create a menu takeover for, celebrating all things food from that nation. This half term, the students have voted for Italy! One of my favourite aspects from Italy is Focaccia bread - so simple to make and so incredibly tasty! It's the perfect addition to any Italian dish and made the perfect addition to the Italian feast the students enjoyed on Thursday.
Ingredients
500g strong bread flour - plus extra for dusting
7g dried fast action yeast
2 tsp table salt
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
5 tbsp olive oil - you will need extra to grease the tin and I like to serve the bread with olive oil
¼ small bunch rosemary, sprigs picked
Method
1. Put the flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix the yeast into one side of the flour and the table salt into the other side - it’s important to keep them apart.
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add 2 tbsp oil and 350-400 ml lukewarm water, adding it slowly until you have a slightly sticky dough - don't worry if you don't need all the water. Sprinkle your work surface with flour and tip the dough onto it, scraping around the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5-10 minutes until your dough is soft and less sticky. Put the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave it to prove for 1 hour at room temperature until doubled in size. The warmer the room, the quicker it will prove; if you prove it too quickly, it will affect the finished texture of the bread.
3. Oil a 25x35cm rectangle, shallow tin, tip the dough onto your work surface, then stretch it to fill the tin. Cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for another 35-45 mins.
4. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Press your fingers into the dough firmly to make dimples. Mix together 1 ½ tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp water, and the flaky salt and drizzle over the bread. Push sprigs of rosemary into the dimples in the dough. The water will help the top get nice and crispy.
5. Bake for 20 mins until golden. Whilst the bread is still hot, drizzle over 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Cut your bread into squares and you are ready to serve! I love to dip mine into olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!
