Focaccia: Fluffy, Hydrated & Seriously Addictive.
If your friends and family weren’t smiling before, they will be after knocking back a slab of this fluffy, golden, olive-oil-soaked goodness.
Ingredients
Dough
420 g warm water
10 g honey
1 sachet dry yeast
Extra-virgin olive oil, generously
485g 00 bread flour
10 g fine salt
Topping
Flaky salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Rosemary, thyme or oregano, optional
Equipment
20 cm square baking tin
A sturdy oven-safe mug for the water
Method
1. Activate the yeast
Add the warm water and honey to a large mixing bowl. Stir until the honey has completely dissolved.
Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the water. Do not mix it in—leave it resting on the surface for 5–10 minutes, until it looks frothy and activated.
2. Make the dough
Drizzle a little olive oil into the yeast mixture, then add 485 g of the flour and the salt.
Mix only until everything has just combined and no large pockets of dry flour remain. Do not overmix.
The dough is supposed to look messy, loose and extremely sticky at this stage. Resist the temptation to keep adding flour—trust the process. Less is more.
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
3. Begin the stretch-and-folds
Wet your hands thoroughly to prevent the dough from sticking.
Take hold of one side of the dough, gently stretch it upwards and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl and repeat from the opposite side, completing two folds.
The dough will still be difficult to manage, and your folds do not need to be remotely perfect. Simply do what the dough allows.
Cover the bowl and rest for another 15 minutes.
4. Repeat the folds
With wet hands, complete another two stretch-and-folds. Cover and rest the dough for a further 15 minutes.
Complete one final set of stretch-and-folds. By now, the dough should feel smoother, stronger and much easier to stretch over itself.
5. Let it rise
Cover the bowl and place it in the warmest area of your house for approximately 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
The temperature of your kitchen will affect the rising time, so watch the dough rather than relying entirely on the clock.
6. Transfer it to the tin
Generously coat the base and sides of a 20 cm square baking tin with olive oil.
Gently tip the risen dough into the tin. With wet or lightly oiled hands, give it one final gentle stretch and fold.
Leave the dough covered for approximately 20 minutes, until it becomes light and puffy.
7. Preheat the oven
Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200°C.
8. Dimple and season
Generously drizzle olive oil over the surface of the dough.
Using oiled fingers, press firmly into the dough to create deep dimples, taking your fingers all the way down to the bottom of the tin without tearing through the dough.
Finish with flaky salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Add rosemary, thyme or oregano if desired.
*If using fresh herbs, garnish after baking as they might char in the oven and become bitter.
9. Bake
Place the focaccia in the oven with the mug of hot water beneath or beside it.
Bake at 200°C fan-forced for 20–25 minutes, or until the focaccia is deeply golden, crisp around the edges and cooked through.
When removed from the tin and tapped underneath, it should sound hollow.
10. Let it settle
Allow the focaccia to cool for 5–10 minutes out of the tin before slicing.
For sandwiches, allow it to cool for longer before slicing horizontally through the middle. This gives the crumb time to firm up and makes the focaccia easier to cut cleanly.
Enjoy with a large smile.
Sofia’s Notes.
If you don’t smile while making it, the dough will know and it will fail out of spite.
Please invest in a box of thick, flaky, crunchy sea salt for the topping.
For a sweet variation, try my gooey cinnamon & cardamom filling finished with flaky sea salt. It falls somewhere between focaccia and a cinnamon roll, which is an excellent place to be.
