Sunday 22 January 2012

Thyme and Garlic Focaccia



I like this still warm out of the oven, oily and salty, perhaps dipped into yet more grassily green olive oil. I like it so much I've doubled the quantities of the original recipe to make a gargantuan loaf, so just halve it if you want something smaller. Like most recipes including yeast, it takes a little while, but the actual work involved is minimal. If you want fresh bread in the morning, you can make the dough the night before, let it prove overnight in the fridge and continue with the recipe when you wake up.

Ingredients
1kg strong white flour
2 sachets dried yeast
4 tsp fine salt
560 ml lukewarm water
220ml extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled.
Leaves from 10 stalks of thyme, chopped
Coarse sea salt, to sprinkle

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine 250 grams of the flour,  and all the yeast and salt. Quickly whisk together the water and half the olive oil, and stir into the dry ingredients so all the flour is mixed in. Add as much extra flour as you need to make a dough that is only slightly sticky. Tip onto a floured surface, and knead for 5-10 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, cover with a tea towel, and leave to rise until it is doubled in size. This should take about 2 hours.

Once the first prove has finished, punch the dough down and give it another quick knead. Line a baking tray with some baking paper and oil. Roll or press the dough into a rough rectangle, about 1 cm thick, and dimple the surface of the dough all over with your fingers. Leave to prove for another half an hour. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Towards the end of the prove, crush the garlic and thyme leaves together into a paste. When you have a cohesive mush, mix in the remaining olive oil. After the final prove, spread the garlic-thyme-oil over the focaccia with your hands. Place in oven and bake for around half an hour, until golden brown.

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