I think Focaccia is one of the simpler bread recipes to make and it always turns out delicious. Although the recipe looks a lot longer than usual below it isn’t difficult and a lot of it is hands off time.

I kept this focaccia quite traditional and only used rosemary and sea salt to flavour it. If you don’t have rosemary available to you, get inventive! Roasted garlic and tomatoes are amazing, try other herbs that you might have at home or even other veggies like peppers.

We had ours for dinner with a homemade red pepper hummus (my favourite) but it would be the perfect accompaniment to a melted cheese like a camembert or fondu or even a soup. Check out the Butternut Squash Soup recipe!

Tag #rhiabakes if you give this a go!

🛒 Ingredients 🛒

▪️300g plain flour

▪️190ml warm water

▪️1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

▪️1/2 tsp sea salt (plus more for the top)

▪️8 tbsp olive oil

▪️Rosemary (4 sprigs)

👩‍🍳 Method 👨‍🍳 

1. Start by warming 5 tbsp of your olive oil over a very low heat. Once it is warm add your picked rosemary leaves from all of the sprigs and leave to infuse while you make the rest of the focaccia.
2. Start by adding your yeast and water together in a jug and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 3 tbsp of olive oil to the jug.
3. In a bowl, add the flour, salt and water mixture together. Using a knife, start to bring it together to form a dough. It will be sticky. 
4. On an oiled surface, knead the dough for around 5-6 minutes. Each batch will be different but you need the dough to form a smooth ball. If its dimpled, knead it for a bit longer.
5. Leave to rise in a well oiled bowl for 1 hour.
6. When the hour is up preheat the oven to 200°C. 
7. Knock the air out of your dough and knead a few times. 
8. Now you need to shape it. I prefer a rustic look and use my hands to make a rectangle that is roughly 20x30cm. You can bake this in a smaller rectangle tray and form it to the shape if you prefer. Leave to sit for 30 minutes.
9. After 30 minutes use your fingers to create dimples in the dough. You want to do this all over and press down almost to the surface below. 
10. Drizzle with the rosemary infused olive oil, the rosemary leaves and extra sea salt and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
11. Enjoy!