Olive and Sun-Dried Tomato Focaccia

My dear Sourdoughmaniacs,

A focaccia is probably one of my all-time favorite things to bake. It is one of the easiest, quickest, and most delicious recipes to add to your sourdough arsenal. It’s delicious, it’s crunchy, it’s fluffy, and it works with almost any topping you can think of. It also goes down well completely plain. It is the perfect snack or sandwich bread, pairs great with soups, salads, and cold cuts. It is the star of every picnic… need I say more?

Since I can practically hear you saying: Yes, Anita, the recipe… tell us the recipe! I think the best course of action is to jump right into it and get starte(r)d. This wonderful number was created in collaboration with Spar for my web series the ABC’s of Sourdough.

Making the Levain

  • 10 g of bubbly starter
  • 30 g water
  • 40 g white all-purpose flour

Mix all the ingredients in a jar, cover it and leave it at room temperature to bubble and double in size.

Ingredients

The Main Dough

  • 500 g of white all-purpose flour 
  • 340 g water
  • 30 g water to add in later
  • 10 g salt

Toppings

  • 1 dl of olive oil
  • Olives 
  • sun dried tomatoes in oil

Making the dough

Mix the flour and the 340g of water in a bowl until the mixture has no clumps or dry parts. Then cover the bowl so it’s air tight.

After 30 minutes dissolve the salt and levain in the remaining 30g of water and add it to the dough. Knead until you get a nice supply and soft dough.

Cover the dough again and let it rest. Let the dough bulk rise until it doubles in size.

Shaping the focaccia 

Gently scoop the dough into a well-oiled baking tray (approximately 19x32cm). Use your fingers to press “indentations” into the dough. 

TIP: if the dough is being stubborn and keeps jumping back together, wait 10 minutes for it to relax then try again.

Assembling and Proofing 

Once your focaccia dough is properly indented, drizzle olive oil on top. 

Then distribute the olives and dry tomatoes over the focaccia and press them firmly into the dough.

TIP If you do not press the dry tomatoes into the dough deeply enough, they can burn while baking. 

Cover the tray or put it in a plastic bag and wait for the focaccia dough to double in size again. Or bake immediately.

Baking

Bake the focaccia bread for 20-30 minutes at 240 °C or 464°F (without added steam). You’ll know the focaccia is done when it becomes wonderfully brown and crunchy.

TIP: it tastes best served slightly warm.

TIP #2: take the focaccia out of the baking tray and cool it off on a rack to prevent it from growing damp. If you find the focaccia hard to remove from the baking tray, line it with parchment paper.

Enjoy baking the world a better place,

Anita

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