Focaccia and my views on ‘quick’ recipes

Focaccia with rosemary and sea salt flakes

Good things come to those who wait. Unless you have waited for goats cheese in which case more fool you.

Recently, I was asked what was my least favourite food to cook. The person asking plainly meant a specific cuisine but I don’t have one. Instead it’s quick recipes. Now, before you close this page and/or assume this is food snobbery, allow me a sentence to explain. I dislike quick versions of recipes that purport to produce the same results as the ‘proper’ version. A stew that takes 30 minutes will not taste the same as one slow cooked for hours. Does that matter to you? A personal decision. I’ve never been convinced. Be it a dauphinoise recipe that claimed the same results in 20 minutes (Nope, watery, raw and texturally jarring) or quick bolognaise with the depth and complexity of an in-flight magazine, neither were remotely the same. Don’t get me started on recipes that tell you to brown onions for 10 minutes. Which is it, because it sure as shallots isn’t both.

I’m a firm believer that if you only have 15 minutes, cook something that is designed to take 15 minutes. Testament to that is you’ll always find black pepper, Parmesan and spaghetti in my house. Which means I can always make Cacio e pepe. I had a bowl before writing this because it’s amongst the most delicious thing you can make in 15 minutes.

Which brings me to focaccia. Sure, you can make it in a day with just a few hours for each rise, but it’s just not as good. I tried it recently only for my Masterchef critics (my two children) to deem it not as good as the ‘proper one’ I make.

Let’s address a final misnomer. Just because a recipe takes a long time, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be slaving over it for hours. The amount of doing something versus letting it live its best life is heavily weighted in favour of the former.

Ingredients

500g of Tipo 00 flour (Often labeled ‘Pasta Flour’) or Strong White Bread Flour

5g of instant yeast

5g of caster sugar

10g of fine sea salt

400g of warm water. I used 100g of boiling and 300g of cold mixed together. (Yes grams. It’s more accurate)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Flaky sea salt. I use Halen Môn or Maldon

Rosemary

Dry ingredients

24 hours before you want to take the focaccia out of the oven, mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.

Liquid

Pour in the water and mix it all together with a fork until all the water is absorbed and there is no dry flour remaining. It’s going to be sticky but that’s what you want. Cover with cling film or a tea towel.

Stretch and fold

After 15 minutes, with wet hands, stretch and fold the dough into itself. If you aren’t familiar with the concept here’s a great sub 1 minute video showing you how. Cover again and15 minutes later, repeat the stretch and folds. Then turn it over until it’s smooth side up, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and coat the dough so there is no dry parts on the surface. Cover with oiled cling film.

First rise

Put the dough in the fridge for 19 hours. You could leave it for two days if you want.

Second rise

Take a rectangular roasting tray. Mine is 35cm by 24cm but anything around that size will do. Generously coat the tray with 4 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. If you are worried that the focaccia may stick, use a tablespoon of oil, line the tray with baking paper and coat that with four tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Carefully tip out the dough using lightly oiled hands into a rectangular shape. Fold the dough into itself by bringing the left edge to the middle and the right edge to the middle. Now flip the dough over in one go so that it is smooth side up.

Cover with oiled cling film and leave out at room temperature for four hours.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 220c

If the dough hasn’t expanded to the edges of the pan, use wet hands to gently pull it to the edges. With wet fingers, dimple the dough by gently pushing the tips of your fingers into it. Do it carefully as you don’t want to pop any air bubbles that form.

Drizzle over more olive oil and some flaky salt. If you want to use herbs, give them a light first oiling so that they don’t burn.

Bake for 25 mins then check that the top and bottom are crisp, it may need 5 more mins.

Leave on a cooling rack for 10 mins.

Eat it all in one go.