Ingredients for focaccia (with rosemary)
- 750 g. flour
- ½ teaspoon refined sea salt
- 25 g. fresh yeast
- 150 ml extra virgin Verde-Salud olive oil
- 450 ml lukewarm Pineo water
- Coarse sea salt
- Sprigs of fresh rosemary
Preparation of focaccia (with rosemary)
- Sieve the flour and the salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle Crumble and add the yeast
- Pour 3 dessertspoons of olive oil into the well and mix in with a fork until the yeast looks like breadcrumbs
- Pour in the lukewarm water and mix with the hands until you have smooth dough
- Put the dough onto a work surface that you have sprinkled with flour and knead the dough with clean hands for approximately 10 minutes until it is soft and elastic If the dough is too smooth add another dessertspoon of flour until you have the right consistency (the dough should never stick to your hands).
- Put the dough into a clean bowl smeared with olive oil, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in the kitchen/heated room until it has doubled in volume (30 mins to 1 ½ hours)
- Hit back the dough, split into two and shape each half into a round ball on a work surface that is sprinkled with flour
- Roll both balls of dough them out into two circles and place them onto a baking sheet that has been smeared with olive oil
- Cover them with a damp tea towel and leave them to rise for a further 30 minutes
- Remove the tea towel and make deep wells into the surface of the dough with your fingertips
- Pour over the remaining olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt
- Cover again and leave to rise for 30 minutes
- Sprinkle the breads with water and sprinkle with (lots of) rosemary and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes until cooked and light brown
- Serve the focaccia ( nice and crispy) as an aperitif with some mild Amanprana olive oil or walnut oil with some fresh olives Also delicious with a summer salad
Tip from Ellen:
- OLIVE FOCACCIA: before pouring over the olive oil, fill the little wells in the bread with depitted black olives
- WALNUT FOCACCIA: instead of herbs or olives use 250 g. walnuts. Keep aside approximately 25 half walnuts and crush the rest on a chopping board using a rolling pin until they are fine, add this ground mixture to the flour at the beginning of the preparation. Prepare the dough in the same way and fill the wells in the dough with the walnut halves. Serve this bread as an aperitif with a bowl of extra virgin Périgord walnut oil and a bowl of coarse sea salt. Break off pieces of the bread, dip generously into the oil and then into the bowl of salt. Delicious with a glass of rosé or Ame.
- When making the walnut variant you can also replace half of the flour with Lemaire flour that will give the bread a bit substance.
