Garden Focaccia Recipe - Great British Chefs

Bread
easy
Makes 1 large loaf
45 minutes, plus rising and proving time

PT45M

Marcus Wareing's focaccia recipe is light, fluffy and topped with a combination of courgette, rhubarb , herbs and red onion for a distinctly British twist on the Italian bread. This recipe is taken from Marcus Everyday by Marcus Wareing, with photography by Susan Bell (HarperCollins, £20).

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Ingredients

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300g of strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp table salt
30ml of olive oil, plus 30ml for drizzling
7g of fast-action dried yeast, or 23g fresh yeast
1 tbsp of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp of rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp of dill, finely chopped
1 stick of rhubarb, 20cm long, cut into 1cm-thick slices
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 courgette, sliced lengthways into 3–5mm strips (roughly 4 strips)
1 tsp flaky sea salt
14 basil leaves
2 tbsp of honey, for drizzling

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Method

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Mix together the flour and table salt in a bowl

300g of strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp table salt

In a jug, combine 150ml tepid water with the olive oil and yeast (crumbling in the fresh yeast, if using) and mix together. Make a well in the flour and pour the liquid into the well. Mix to form a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Knead for 7–10 minutes, until smooth. This can be done by hand on a lightly floured surface or using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook

30ml of olive oil, plus 30ml for drizzling
7g of fast-action dried yeast, or 23g fresh yeast

Lightly grease the inside of a bowl with oil, place the dough in it and cover the bowl with lightly oiled clingfilm. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size

Once the dough has risen, add the chopped herbs to the bowl and knead them through the dough

1 tbsp of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp of rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp of dill, finely chopped

Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface and roll it out into a large rectangle, approximately 18 x 30cm and 1cm thick. Push the rhubarb into the dough and top with the onion, courgette and two-thirds of the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, place on a well-floured baking tray, cover loosely with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place to prove for 30 minutes

1 stick of rhubarb, 20cm long, cut into 1cm-thick slices
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 courgette, sliced lengthways into 3–5mm strips (roughly 4 strips)
1 tsp flaky sea salt

While the dough is proving, preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C fan/gas mark 8 with a heavy baking tray inside. After 20 minutes, drizzle the remaining olive oil on the tray and place it back in the oven

Carefully remove the hot, oiled tray from the oven and slide the proved dough onto it. Turn the oven down to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7 and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, top with the basil leaves and drizzle with the honey and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes