Focaccia

Total Time: 2 hrs 25 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast
• 450 ml warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 120 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus
• additional extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 750 g flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• coarse sea salt, to sprinkle

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, combine the yeast, 150 ml of warm water and the sugar.
• 2 let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
• 3 add olive oil, the rest of the water and the herbs.
• 4 in a separate bowl, combine the flour and the salt.
• 5 add this to the wet mixture a little at a time and knead to form a dough.
• 6 turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead vigorously for 5-10 minutes adding a little more flour if necessary to keep it from sticking.
• 7 it will be very sticky to start with, work it until it's "clean".
• 8 place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn and coat the whole surface with oil.
• 9 cover with a damp warm cloth and let rise in a warm place for at least an hour.
• 10 preheat oven to 230ºc and lightly oil two rectangular baking dishes, not too big (i use a small roasting tin), turn out the dough and divide.
• 11 press the dough into the dishes, cover and allow to rise for a further 30 minutes (i can never be bothered to wait that long and normally leave it 10-20).
• 12 dimple the dough with your fingers and brush with oil.
• 13 sprinkle with the sea salt.
• 14 place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 190ºc and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• 15 cool on a rack for at least half an hour.