Everyday Focaccia
Cherie Metcalfe
Golden, fluffy and loaded with those glorious little olive oil-filled dimples, this is the kind of focaccia you’ll want to make on repeat. Gateway Salt brings the perfect savoury hit, while a few simple stretch and folds give you a light, airy centre and beautifully crisp edges. Tear it apart while it’s still warm, serve it alongside dinner, dunk it into dips or slice it up for seriously good sandwiches.
Ingredients
4 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons active instant yeast
3 cups luke warm water
1 tablespoon Man Grind Flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Gateway Salt, for topping
15 olives, optional
Directions
Place the flour in a large bowl, add the yeast and mix to combine.
Pour in the water and mix with a spoon until a wet dough forms. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon Gateway Salt and mix briefly to combine. Drizzle the top of the dough with olive oil and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
Clean your bench, then drizzle it generously with olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking. Tip the dough onto the bench and, with oiled hands, gently stretch it into a wide rectangle.
Take one side of the dough and fold it towards the centre, then repeat with the other side, as though you’re folding a landscape piece of A4 paper into thirds. This is also known as a blanket fold.
Repeat the fold in the opposite direction, bringing the bottom of the dough up towards the centre, followed by the top down towards the centre.
Return the folded dough to the bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch and fold process twice more, resting the dough for 30 minutes between each. You’ll complete three stretch and folds in total.
Preheat the oven to 220°C fan bake.
Generously oil a baking tray and place the folded dough in the centre. Gently stretch the dough out towards the edges of the tray, being careful not to knock out the air bubbles. Leave to rise for another 20–30 minutes.
Once risen, the dough should be very jiggly and mostly fill the tray. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle over 1 teaspoon Gateway Salt.
Using your fingertips, gently press deep dimples all over the dough.
Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until beautifully golden on top. Remove from the oven and enjoy warm.
