easy focaccia

Makes one loaf

Baking is our therapy but sometimes it is messy and can take hours. Those hours are hard to justify when you’ve got a tribe of kids running around vying for attention.

This recipe is so easy you can prep it in around 5 minutes. It’s the best tasting as it uses Great Balls of Flour Original dough balls that we all know are packed with flavour.

The aroma from the garlic and herbs as the focaccia cooks will start to get your mouthwatering as it fills your kitchen.

Simple to make, yet incredible to taste.

Ingredients

3 or 4 Great Balls of Flour pizza dough ball
2 cloves of garlic, crushed.
A couple of sprigs of either fresh Rosemary or Thyme
Sea salt (flakes work best)
Black pepper
Olive oil

Method

Take 3 or 4 Original dough balls, depending on the size of your baking tray. Place them in a bowl, add around 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, get your hands into the bowl and mix it all together to create one large ball ensuring the oil is being absorbed. You may need to add a slight dusting of flour to help the oil absorb into the balls, but not too much.

Place into a baking tin (our tin measured 35 x 25, scale up or down as required and adjust dough ball quantities as required). Press the dough out, but don’t force it to the edges with resting it will spread out.

Cover with clingfilm (lightly cot in olive oil) or a damp towel, ensuring the towel doesn’t make contact with the dough or it will stick. Leave in a warm place until it’s doubled in size for 3 – 5 hours (we’ve extended hours normally associated with proofing as we know the heating is on less these days). See our final proofed dough by hovering over the main image above.

When it has doubled preheat your kitchen oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Press into the dough with your fingers to make the classic Focaccia indentations and add some toppings of your choice. We used Rosemary and garlic at this stage, but it could be oregano, chill flakes etc.

Cook for 15 minutes and rotate 180 degrees, cook for a further 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven, remove from the baking pan and set out on a wire rack to cool, sprinkle with sea salt flakes, fresh cracked pepper, and drizzle some olive oil over the top.

Now you have a choice, cut them into small cubes and use to dip in sauces, houmus, olive oil and balsamic vinegar or slice into 8 squares and then cut halfway through to make a delicious Italian style sandwich (recipe to follow later in the series).

You will never want to buy expensive Focaccia again.