Onion focaccia

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A very easy and basic focaccia recipe.

Ingredients

• 350g strong bread flour (I used Wessex Mill French bread Flour - similar to Type 65)
• ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 x 7g sachet Easy-Bake yeast, or 15g fresh yeast
• 200ml water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

Mise en place

• If using fresh yeast, activate in the water.

Method

1. Mix the first 5 ingredients and knead thoroughly.
2. Place in a bowl, covered with some oiled clingfilm and put in a warm place until risen to double its size.
3. On a floured board, knock back, knead, return to the bowl and allow to rise again to double its size.
4. Knock back and place in a suitable receptacle, eg a shallow, greased 25cm cake tin - I used a rectangular Falcon enamel pie dish.
5. Cover again in clingfilm and let it rise until twice the height.
6. Pre-heat your oven to 200° C (400° F - gas 6), and 10 minutes before you want to bake it, push your fingers into the dough to make some dimples.
7. Sprinkle the dough with the onions, salt, black pepper and olive oil and leave to prove for 10 minutes.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Variations

Add herbs, spices etc of your choice.

Chef's notes

In theory you should use lukewarm water, but I made this with sparkling mineral water straight from the fridge. It takes a lot longer to prove, but a longer fermentation makes a better bread.