Just to warn you, this recipe and the flavourings I used is not authentic Focaccia but it is the easiest bread recipe and I also get to use my beloved 12 x 15 inch tray that you may have seen in my previous tray bake recipes.
Prior to making this, the plan was to only use garlic and oregano but all of a sudden I opened the fridge and saw jalapeno stuffed green olives and then red onions and then Mozzarella and the next thing I knew I had to stop myself from putting the kitchen sink into this bread.
As the bread came out of the oven, I was instantly hypnotised by the smell of caramelised onions and oregano; so much so I immediately had to stop my brain from going into overdrive, thinking about all the other variations I wanted to experiment with. Luckily I had some self-control to stop myself from making 3 more batches when the first batch hadn’t even left the oven yet!
My variations ranged from:
Nutella & Banana Focaccia
Blueberry & Cinnamon Focaccia
Lemon & Strawberry Focaccia
To more savoury flavours such as:
Basil, Mozzarella and Sun-dried Tomato Focaccia
Chilli, Coriander and Onion Focaccia
Rosemary, Black Olive and Garlic Focaccia
If you don’t have a bread maker/mixer machine thing, this recipe also turns into a mini arm workout as it involves manually kneading the dough.
There is a lot of waiting time from start to finish of this recipe which includes 45 minutes to prove the bread after the dough has initially been made; another 45 minutes after the first prove in the actual baking tray and lastly, the 20 minute cooking time. Nevertheless, I found that equates to approximately 3 x 55 minute episodes of that series you are watching, so all in all I found it to be a very productive use of my time.
I adapted this recipe I found from BBC Good Food and doubled the quantities to fit my 12 x 15 inch tray.
The top tip I discovered was to separate the instant yeast from the salt when you are adding it to the plain flour. This separation prevents the salt from killing the yeast - Which you definitely do not want to do.
Additionally, it should be noted, that I did not end up using all of the 400ml of lukewarm water that the recipe called for; I used around 300ml but this may not necessarily be the same for you.
So here is the recipe I adapted from BBC Good Food (With the ingredients doubled from the original recipe):
For the dough:
1kg of Plain Flour
14g Dried Fast Action Yeast
4 Teaspoons of Salt/Sea Salt
350ml – 400ml of Lukewarm Water
My Fillings for this particular recipe:
Jalapeno Stuffed Green Olives
4-5 Cloves of Fresh Garlic (Finely Chopped)
1 Red Onion Finely Diced
1 Red Onion Finely Sliced (this is to sprinkle on top before it goes into the oven)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 Tablespoon of Dried Oregano
Fresh Mozzarella Cubed
5 Tablespoons of Olive Oil – Some for greasing the tray, then to drizzle over before it is baked and finally to drizzle over after it has been baked.
It all starts by making the dough – Add the flour into a large mixing bowl. On one side of the bowl, add the instant yeast and on the other side add the salt. (Remember this separation stops the salt from killing off the yeast which you do not want to do)
Then mix this all together, make a well in the centre and slowly pour in some of your water a little at a time. Combine together, adding more water if necessary, till it reaches a firm dough.
Sprinkle a work surface with some extra plain flour and start to knead the dough on a clean work surface.
Once it is smooth, return the dough into your large mixing bowl and cover this with a tea towel for 45 minutes till it has doubled in size.
Knock out the air in the dough and add in the chopped olives, garlic, chopped onion, salt, pepper, dried oregano and the cubed mozzarella.
Grease your baking tray with some of the olive oil and start to put clumps of the dough on the tray till it has all been used up.
Leave this dough in the tray for another 40 minutes or so till it has doubled in size.
After the dough has doubled in size again, at this point, preheat your oven to around 220 degrees Celsius.
To resemble that focaccia look, press your fingers into the dough to make dimples (I also found that this distributes the fillings evenly too) and sprinkle over the sliced red onions along with a generous drizzle of olive oil.
Bake this for around 20 mins or until it is golden brown. Whilst the bread is still warm, drizzle with more olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt. Serve immediately whilst it is still warm!
Comments