This was much easier than I expected: my usual white bread recipe but cooked in a shallow tray rather than a loaf tin.
Source Focaccia gardens seem to have become a thing during lockdown but mine was much simpler - recommended for every day deliciousness and perfect party or bbq food, and robust enough for picnic sandwiches.
One thing I'm good at growing is rosemary. There's a huge bush in the front garden that's covered in blue flowers every spring. It's not in the best place for harvesting the odd sprig for cooking, but it looks good.
Meanwhile, I've grown a second bush outside the back door for the kitchen. It's full of lush early summer growth and smells delicious when you brush past. We harvested some at the weekend for roast lamb and to make this bread.
Simple focaccia bread with rosemary, olive oil and sea salt flakes. I guess you could make sweet focaccia too, with added fresh or dried fruit.
This bread is gorgeous, so light and tasty and savoury. It would be perfect as finger food for a party. It was so easy to make, too. Smoothing it into the baking tray was easy with wet hands and creating the dimples on top by stabbing the dough with your fingers was very therapeutic.
Portions of fresh focaccia with a simple salad lunch; told me it's also good with Campbell's tomato soup. I'm going to try that.
Recipe
500g white bread flour (I used Marriage's)
300ml tepid water
25g chopped rosemary or other herbs (optional)
15ml olive oil (plus extra for the topping)
7g dried active yeast
5g demerara sugar or honey
5g salt (plus extra flakes for the topping)
Mix dry ingredients and make a well in the centre; add water, oil and honey, if using, and combine the ingredients to form a soft dough. Kneed for a bit on a floured surface until the dough is soft and elastic, then shape into a ball, place in the bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place for an hour until the dough has doubled in size. Kneed again, then stretch and spread the dough until it fits a flat tray greased with olive oil, using wet fingers to ease it into the corners. Have a good stabbing session to create dimples and leave for 30-40 minutes to double in size. Brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle over sea salt flakes (or any other flavouring). Bake in a pre-heated oven at 230 degrees for fifteen minutes, reduce heat to 200 degrees and cook for a further ten to fifteen minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack and try not to eat it all at once.
Jamie Oliver has some great ideas for toppings - using the bread a bit like a pizza. We ate loads the day I made it. The remainder was portioned into sizes suitable for a sandwich and frozen. It's great to pull out quickly in the morning and ready by lunch time.
Strongly recommended!