Focaccia Style Bread

Our Woolies Discovery Garden is going well and I am thinking about ways I can use the garden in our everyday meals. I love making bread (you can read here why), and I use this recipe for all kinds of bread-y things, from rolls to loaves.

A really easy bread to make is a flat focaccia-style loaf. It is a perfect accompaniment to many family meals like BBQs. When I was looking at my herbs the other day, I thought to make a loaf and throw on what I had. That’s the beauty of the focaccia, you can use whatever herbs you have. My best performing herb is my basil. Oregano has really struggled in the heat but it is holding up, and my thyme is going really well too.

I used the herbs to top the loaf. Below are the instructions on how to make the dough.

Ingredients

310 g Lukewarm water (1  1/3 cups)
1 sachet dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
510 g plain flour (3  1/2 cups)
30 g extra virgin olive oil (3 tablespoons)

Dough Method (for Thermomix)

1. Add ingredients into the bowl as listed.
2. Mix on 6 for 12 seconds.
3. Lock lid and knead for 1.5 minutes.
4. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a clean tea towel.  Allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Dough Method (by hand)

1. Pour lukewarm water into a small bowl. Then add the yeast, then salt and finally sugar. Set aside and let it sit for a few minutes.
2. In another bowl, measure the flour.
3. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the liquid. 
4. Add the oil in the centre where the liquid is.
5. Mix with a spoon until just combined.
6. Throw a little flour in the bench where you are working. Use hands to form a ball and knead for about 5 minutes. To knead, I fold the dough in half towards myself and then push down with my palms and repeat.
7. Place in a bowl and allow to rise (ideally somewhere warm) in a bowl for 30 minutes (cover with a clean tea towel).

Once the dough has risen, take it out of the bowl and knead for a few minutes.

Then roll out into a long, thin, flat shape.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and grease with a little oil. Then lay on your loaf.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top and rub gently into the bread.

Add salt and herbs. I used thyme and oregano at this point and used fresh basil after the bread was cooked.

Preheat oven to 180°C and, and place the bread into the hot oven. Cook until golden (about 15-20 minutes).

Drizzle with olive oil and to with basil. Cut in strips to serve. It goes lovely with olive oil and dukkah dip too.