I have been trying to make the perfect Focaccia for years but my attempts have never been quite right. This notoriously wet dough is so tricky to handle and the temptation to add more flour is over whelming especially when kneading this dough by hand. However, I think I finally found the soulution: the bread maker. It is so easy, just bung in all the ingredients and let it do the work for u 😀 Although, if you don’t have a bread maker it is fine to use a bit of elbow grease just make sure you oil the board you are kneading the dough on instead of using flour. This method should prevent your dough from sticking and provide you with a delicious Focaccia complete with characteristic irregular holes in the middle. This recipe is from the Hairy Bikers book ‘Mums Know Best’ (which they certainly do), I’ve adapted the anchoiade topping a little bit and also included a sundried tomato version for those who are frightened of anchovies. I also discovered leftover anchoiade is pretty great with tomato sauce and pasta so don’t worry if you make a little to much, it also keeps in the fridge for ages.

For the Dough:

You will need:

2 tbsp olive oil

45og strong, white bread flour

1 tsp sea salt

7g dried yeast

275ml water

For the Anchoiade:

You will need:

10 green olives

3 cloves of garlic

2 tins anchovies in olive oil

2tsp olive oil

For the Sun-dried Tomato Topping:

You will need:

sundried tomatoes in oil

dried/fresh Italian herbs such as oregano or rosemary

To make the dough put all the ingredients in a bread maker and set to the ‘dough’ cycle. If you don’t have a bread maker combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl adding the water gradually and kneading. When all the ingredients are combined transfer the dough to an oiled work surface and knead until smooth and elastic (this make take a while: around 5-10 mins). Once the dough is kneaded transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise until double in size. Once the dough is ready, divide into 2 and stretch into a rectangle shape on an oiled baking tray. Cover and leave for another 30 mins.

Meanwhile prepare the anchoiade by combining all the ingredients together using a pestle and mortar or food processor until you have a smooth paste.

Once the dough has been left to rise for the second time cut a few holes in the bread as shown above. Next, on one of the breads spread over a thin layer of the anchoiade and on the other sprinkle on the sundried tomatoes and herbs. Drizzle with olive oil then cook in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees C for around 25-30 mins.

This recipe makes 2 loaves.

Nutritional Information:

1/4 of Foccacia with anchoiade

Calories: 380 kcal

Fat:18.3g

Carbohydrates:39.1g

Protein: 15.5g

1/4 Foccacia with 3 sun-dried tomatoes

Calories: 236 kcal

Fat: 4.28g

Carbohydrates:41.4g

Protein: 7.1g