This has to be the easiest focaccia recipe I have ever tried and my kids are obsessed with it!! It turns out crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle with delicious pockets of olive oil! I have had zero fails with this recipe (though I admit I am not a breadmaking expert so this may not be a true authentic focaccia recipe-if not it is definitely a very yummy quick focaccia style bread recipe!)
The best part is that you do not need to leave it to prove overnight and from start to finish it's ready in under 3 hours...and there is no kneading involved!!!
You will need a bowl, spatula, a larger bowl that the small bowl can fit inside (or a tray your bowl can sit in) and a large deep baking tray approx 35cm x 24cm or close enough....you could also bake on a flat tray if you don't have a deep one. You will also need to weigh your flour and water into the bowl so scales are a must.
Ingredients:
470grams Warm Water
2 teaspoons Yeast
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
560grams Plain White Flour
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Salt
Extra Olive Oil for the dough and topping
Rock Salt, Herbs, Garlic or anything else you want to top your bread with
Method:
1. Add the ingredients to the bowl in the order shown.
2. Use a spatula to fold the ingredients together until combined, it will look wet and sticky.
3. Cover the bowl and rest for 15minutes.
4. Take the cover off and with wet hands carefully stretch the dough and fold it onto itself, rotate the bowl and repeat the stretch and fold, repeat these steps 8 times (rotating the bowl each time).
5. Drizzle olive oil over the dough and cover again. In your larger bowl or tray add some hot water and place your dough bowl in the water (alternatively you can put your bowl in a warm place!) Rest for 25minutes.
6. Repeat the stretch and fold technique, cover the dough and rest for another 25minutes.
7. Repeat this stretch and fold step until you have performed a total of 3 stretch and folds.
8. Preheat your oven to 200°C (190°C fan forced).
9. Drizzle olive oil over your tray.
10. After the last stretch and fold you can tip your dough into the oiled tray. It should be around double the size, jiggly and have visible airbubbles.
11. Use wet hands to spread the dough out into the tray as best you can. Drizzle olive oil over the top, cover and rest for another 25minutes.
12. Use wet hands to push the dough out to fill the tray and poke holes all over the dough, it should be really jiggly at this point.
13. Pour olive oil over the top of the dough and add your toppings.
(I like to mix olive oil with water 1:1 ratio and then pour this over then add rock salt)
14. Bake your bread in the middle rack of your oven for 20-30minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the top and sides.
15. Once done make sure you remove it from the pan and allow it to cool for 10-15minutes to make it easy to slice.
This bread is great for meat and salad sandwiches or as a side with your favourite pasta dish!! My kids love to just eat it plain and we can easily down a whole loaf of this in one day (to be fair there are 7 people here!!)