Ballymaloe Cookery School Focaccia

Name: Ballymaloe Cookery School Focaccia
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 700 g strong white flour; 2–4 tablespoons olive oil; 600 g tepid water; 15 g caster sugar; small sprigs of fresh rosemary; pinch of flaky sea salt; extra virgin olive oil, for brushing; 2 level teaspoons salt; 20 g fresh yeast (or 10 g dried yeast); 20 g fresh yeast (or 10 g dried yeast)

Preparation info

Makes
1
Focaccia

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The New Ballymaloe Bread Book

By Darina Allen

Published 2023

About

The secret of super-light focaccia, an Italian flatbread, is to incorporate enough water into the dough. The original was simply sprinkled with some flakes of sea salt, but we also add rosemary, thyme or sage. This is delicious for sandwiches, or use a larger tin for a thinner focaccia.

Ingredients

20 g fresh yeast (or 10 g dried yeast)
15 g

Europe
Italy
Ireland
Bread
Vegan

Method

Mix the yeast and sugar with 150g of the tepid water, stir and leave in a warm place. After about 5 minutes, it will have a creamy, slightly frothy appearance on top. Add the olive oil (how much you add is up to you – some people prefer to add all 4 tablespoons and others prefer to add less) and another 300g of water.

Sieve the flour and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with t