- Preheat your oven to 220º/200º fan.
- In a large bowl add the flour, yeast, sugar, fine salt and olive oil. Using the dough hooks on the Dualit Hand Mixer, combine the mixture.
- Slowly add the water, continuing to mix until a rough ball has formed. Continue to knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth.
- Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball and place back into the bowl. Cover with clingfilm or a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
- Knock back the dough and roll out. Roll it big enough to fit a large, oiled baking sheet or pizza stone.
- Use your fingers to press indentations randomly into the top of the dough.
- Fill the indentations with the stuffed olives and sundried tomatoes, pressing the ingredients into the holes.
- Finish with some rosemary sprigs and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Cover with clingfilm and allow to rise again for 30 minutes.
- Remove clingfilm and scatter the rock salt and parmesan over the top.
- Place in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. To be sure the bread is properly cooked, check the underside which should sound slightly hollow when knocked and light brown in colour.
_________________________________________________________________
Top Tips
- If you find the top is baking a little faster than the underside (possibly due to the olive oil and parmesan), then loosely cover the top with foil and continue to bake.
- Try a mix of olive toppings to suit all preferences. Blue cheese and Anchovy stuffed olives work well. Mark up 6 individual squares, add the toppings and cut when baked. This is great to suit all palates from just one bake.
- Roasted peppers in place of sundried tomatoes are a great alternative.
- Add some chopped black olives inside the dough for a richer taste.
- Any left over baked bread is great to use as a pizza base, simply top with pepperoni or sweetcorn, grate on mozzarella and place under the grill until melted.
- Make up a gluten free option by replacing the strong bread flour with a gluten free bread flour and 2 tsps of xantham gum, this helps to bind and stabilise the dough.
- Focaccia freezes well if you'd like to eat at a later date.
_________________________________________________________________
