Recipes || Rosemary Focaccia

Posted on May 20, 2020

Focaccia is a marmite bread – people either love it or they hate it. I’m on team ‘Love It’. It’s salty, oil with an herby tang. I could sing it’s praises. Also it’s a perfect “accidentally” vegan recipe. It’s vegan without purposefully being so, so it makes a good choice for dinner parties too! (Not that we are having many of those lately.)

Whilst everyone else seemed to be making sourdough, I leaned in to the easier and quicker bakes. And focaccia is just delicious. If you’re a beginning baker or just a bit uneasy with bread, this is a great place to start.

Rosemary Focaccia Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup of warm water
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 package of yeast
3 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 cup of olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
2 teaspoons of flaked sea salt
2 springs of rosemary
more salt to top

Directions:

In your mixing bowl, add your water and sugar. Then stir in your yeast and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture is frothy. (Then it’s activated.)

With your mixer on low-speed, with your dough attachment fixed on, alternate adding in your olive oil, flour and salt. Mix together thoroughly and then knead for an additional 5 minutes. If at the end of the 5 minutes, your dough is still too sticky, add in 1/4 cup of flour.

Place your dough in an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

After your dough has risen, preheat your oven to 200C (400F). Turn your dough out, and knead out to 1/2 inch thick. Cover in plastic and let rise for 20 minutes.

Then place it in your well-oiled baking tray. Sprinkle it with more sea salt, the 2 sprigs of rosemary and a teaspoon or two of olive oil.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Don’t slice. Just tear in with your hands.