Food & Drink

Focaccia Bread Recipe

Focaccia bread is a delicious Italian bread made with olive oil, herbs, and in this case olives and garlic. It is perfect eaten with a salad or barbecue. Dan DeGustibus, artisan baker specialising in sourdoughs, shows you how to make two different versions of focaccia bread. Enlarge

Focaccia Bread Recipe

Focaccia bread is a delicious Italian bread made with olive oil, herbs, and in this case olives and garlic. It is perfect eaten with a salad or barbecue. Dan DeGustibus, artisan baker specialising in sourdoughs, shows you how to make two different versions of focaccia bread.

Prep:
1h:30m
Cook:
20m
Total:
1h:50m
Temp:
220° c  -  430° f

Ingredients

  • 410 g white flour
  • 8 g fine sea salt
  • 6 g yeast
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 30 g rye sourdough starter
  • 30 g white sourdough starter
  • 20 ml olive oil
  • 40 g mixed chopped olives
  • 1 baked head of garlic
  • 100 g grated cheese

Step 1: Make the Dough

Mix together the flour, yeast, fine salt, dry herbs, rye sourdough starter, white sourdough starter, 20 ml olive oil and the chopped olives. Add water and mix with your hand until you have a wetish dough.

Step 2: Knead the Dough

Place your ball of dough on a floured surface and knead it by stretching it out and folding it over. Knead for about 10 minutes, then leave it on the surface covered with an upturned bowl for about 30-45 minutes. Divide the ball of dough in half. Take one piece and stretch it out using your hands. Sprinkle over some flour and leave on a tray to ferment.

Step 3: Add the Garlic

Remove the skin from your baked garlic and fold some of the cloves into the other half of the dough. Shape it into an oval shape, make three cuts into it, and stretch it out. Press a few more garlic cloves into the top. Transfer it to the tray to rest with the other bread.

Step 4: Bake the Bread

Bake the breads in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes, sprinkling some grated cheese on the garlic bread just before it is ready.