The Best Focaccia Recipe with Cornish Sea Salt Flakes by Anna Barnett

Method: 

Starter test:

1. To check your starter is active, take a teaspoon of the starter and gently it drop into a glass of warm water. If it’s active, then it will float in the water. If it sinks, you’ll need to feed the starter with rye flour and then test it again in a couple of hours

To make the dough:

2. Combine 100g of your starter with 400ml of warm water into a large bowl and mix until the starter has almost completely dissolved.
3. Add in 500g flour and mix until you have a rough dough and then cover with a tea towel and leave for around an hour, so the mixture comes together.
4. Next sprinkle 10g of Cornish Sea Salt Flakes over the dough. Wet your hands (to avoid the dough sticking to your hands) and thoroughly mix in the salt, scrunching the salt into the dough. Cover and leave the dough for another 30 minutes.

Stretching the dough:

(There are several ways to stretch the dough and I’ve shared two methods below)

1. Pull up the edges of the dough and gently stretch each side over the top of the dough. Turn the bowl and repeat the process until you’ve stretched all sides of the dough. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in between each stretch. Repeat for 3.5 hours.

Or

1. Wet your hands and then carefully lift or scoop the dough (hands either side of the dough) about 30cm above the bowl and allow gravity to gently stretch the top and bottom of the dough. As you place the dough back in the bowl fold the dough over one end (make a rule of it always being the north end) of the stretched dough. Turn 180 degrees and repeat, then turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat again twice until all sides of the dough have been stretched and essentially folded over themselves. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in between each stretch. Repeat for 3.5 hours.

To make the focaccia:

1. Generously oil the base and edges of your baking tray and wet or oil your hands so you can very gently pour your dough into the baking tray. Be careful not to tear or overstretch the dough or to knock out the air bubbles you’ve already created. Drizzle with olive oil and gently rub over the top of the dough. If it hasn’t reached the corners of the tray don’t worry, as it rests and rises it will do.
2. Leave the dough uncovered in a warm room for 3-4 hours or leave overnight (up to 18 hours) in the fridge. Note - for this recipe I let the dough prove for 4 hours in a warm room then let it prove in the fridge overnight which achieved a sourer tasting focaccia, so adjust the method to your preference. Once it’s risen and almost doubled in volume, you are ready to bake.
3. Soak your rosemary in olive oil to infuse and keep rosemary sprigs soft
4. When the bread is ready to bake, preheat your oven to 220°C. I also heat a pizza stone and place the tray of focaccia on top of it to achieve a crunchier base so allow extra time (around 20 minutes) for the pizza stone to preheat, if you’re using one.
5. Using your fingertips, make deep dimples in the dough, drizzle over a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil (the one the rosemary has been infusing in). Dot around the sprigs of rosemary, removing any of the larger harder twig like stalks, add a little extra sea salt flakes from your Henry Holland Pinch Pot and then bake for around 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Check your focaccia after 15 minutes and turn if it’s baking unevenly.
6. Allow the focaccia to cool before turning out of the tray and slicing
7. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients needed for the confit garlic tomatoes and roast on 140°C for around 1.5hrs-2hrs, until soft and the tomatoes and garlic start to caramelise. Allow to cool before serving.