Bobby the Builder and Uncle Steve (Pete’s brother) have been doing some maintenance work for us. Hammering and sawing can be very tiring, and I wanted to bake them something nice for lunch.
This flat loaf was dead easy to make, and I filled it with chunks of deli meats (I bought a bag of offcuts from Paesanella for $3), a little sheeps’ cheese and some marinated artichokes. In the past I’ve also made this with olives and semi-dried tomatoes – anything that might sit comfortably on an antipasto platter would probably work well here.
- 500g (31/3 cups) bakers flour
- 10g (or 1 sachet) dried yeast
- 7g (1 teaspoon) fine sea salt
- 320g (11/3 cups) water
- 50ml (10 teaspoons) extra virgin olive oil
- assorted fillings, such as deli meats, pitted olives, semi-dried tomatoes, marinated artichokes and hard cheeses
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and yeast. Add the water and oil, then add the filling, cut up into pieces. With a clean hand, squelch everything together to form a sticky dough. Scrape off your hand, and cover the bowl with clingfilm. Allow to rest for about half an hour.
2. Leaving the dough in the bowl, give it a brief knead (doing this in the bowl saves on cleaning up the bench later, and also contains all the inclusions, which tend to fly around otherwise when kneaded). It should only take about 30 seconds for the dough to turn quite smooth. Cover again and leave to rise until doubled – about an hour.
3. Line a roasting pan with parchment paper and scrape the risen dough into it. Gently pat the dough out to fit evenly into the pan. Cover and let it rest until it puffs up a little – about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to maximum.
4. Uncover the dough and drizzle with oil, then scatter a little salt over the top (not too much, as the fillings are already quite salty). Push clean fingers through to the bottom of the dough – there are more detailed photos and a video of the process here.
5. Put the pan into the hot oven, lowering the temperature to 220C (430F) with fan and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the bread once during the baking time.
Easy! Don’t get too caught up on the kneading – since the focaccia is a flatbread, it doesn’t really need to rise in the same way as a formed loaf might. In this case, as with pizza, it doesn’t really matter if you don’t knead the dough much at all!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t stopped by to see what you’ve been cooking. Looks like I’ve been really missing out! This focaccia looks divine!
Is there anything I can use in place of sea salt? Kosher? Table?
Hi Mrs N! You could probably use regular table salt in the dough, and sprinkle a little kosher salt on top. Use a gentle touch though, as the fillings can be quite salty (it varies a bit depending on what you choose). Thanks for popping in!
Love marinated artichokes and deli bits, what a delicious ‘eat and get back to work’ combo you’ve made there – of course, if I had been there I might have eaten so much of it that going back to work would have been out of the question ;) Did everyone get brownies for pudding?
x
Love the new photo, Jo! And you know me too well, yes, everyone had brownies and a cup of tea for dessert.. :)
I haven’t made foccacia for ages and your scrumptious looking pics reminded me how much I like it. The deli bits embedded in the dough are a really good idea.
Oh gosh, that looks nourishing! Brilliant idea!
Maz.
Looks great!
Here they call this chop bread, because instead of sticking their fingers into the dough, bakers use a large sharp knife to “chop” the dough around the filling.
It sells well for lunch at the grocery store delis.
I like to use pizza ingredients, too, olives, sundried tomatoes, pickled pepper rings, and provolone and mozzarella cheeses.
Oh that looks delicious, Celia.
I wish I had some right now with a bowl of oily, herby peppers and mozzarella, and a glass of white sherry served cold enough to give me an ice cream head.
Lovely baking!
Any other work need doing?
Sally, Maz, thank you!
Heidi, I’ve never heard of chop bread! That’s an interesting idea to use a knife instead of fingers – thank you. I’m going to google now and see what it ends up looking like.
Grilly, I wish I could share it with you – I love your serving suggestion! :)
Cosmo, a poet with power tools…hmmm. Thanks for always stopping by. ;-)
I LOVE that cheese shop. I haven’t gone there nearly enough, and that top photo on your post from last year was my favourite cheese….oh I need a trip to Haberfield. Quick!
What a great idea, putting all the deli bits in the foccacia. Brilliant.
I buy the offcuts at the deli too and use them to make great ploughmans lunches. It’s such a great ecconomical way to do this and it’s fun to see what you get each time too! Yumm…
By the way, my batch of pb cookies was made yesterday and there is only 2 left. I have great sympathy for your neighbours begging you not to make the morsels of magnificance too often as they are nearly impossible to resist!
Thanks Celia, I haven’t made focaccia for ages, but this will be finding it’s way into the kids lunch boxes tomorrow!
I’m a HUGE fan of delicious morsels in my bread so I should not be left alone with a bread like this! :P
Brydie, thanks! :) Paesanella is the best shop ever, isn’t it? And their little bags of offcuts are always packed with treasure – we often throw them into our pasta soups as well. Did you know they now have a free delivery service? If you order more than $100, free to Sydney metro – have a look at their website – http://www.deliverfood.com.au.
Chef, so glad you liked the cookies! I agree, there is a moment of excitement when you open a bag or box of offcuts.. :)
Amanda, Lorraine, thank you! :)
What a fabulous and fun idea Celia. All I can think about now are different combinations for this brilliant bread.
:-) Mandy
I really should get up the courage to try yeasty things…
Mandy, thank you! I’m sure you’d be able to come up with some brilliant fillings! :)
Lee, go on, it’s just chemistry with style. :)
The focaccia looks really yummy. The deli meat and sundried tomato would be my first choice of filling :)
I can’t wait to bake this!
Yummo! How good does that look?! Seems like a great way to use up odd bits and pieces in the fridge too.
I had a family gathering over the weekend ~ your Chocolate Slab cake & the Butterscotch bars were a huge success!
My sisters put me onto your blog, and I’m always popping on for a read each afternoon, just love it.
Mmm, nothing like fresh baked Focaccia, I used to make one with olives in it everyday when I was chef at Kanberra Winery…, your right, its dead easy isn’t it. Have you tried sprinkling sea salt on top before baking Celia, b e a u t i f u l ;)
Tes, Claire, thank you!
Sue, the thought that you and your sisters are all reading my blog has made my day! Thanks so much for stopping in to leave a comment – delighted the slab cake and butterscotch bars went down well. They’re both favourites here, and I must make each of them a dozen times a year! :)
I love focaccia, but didn’t realise how easy it would be to make. I a little bit daunted by bread making, but I think I could give this a go. I think it’s a good stepping stone for me to go from the pizza dough I make to bread.
PS – I have a half a carton of cream in the fridge waiting for my days off to make butter out of it. Can’t wait!
Anna, when I make plain foc, I always cover it in oil and Maldon salt, but I’ve gone a little easy here, because the fillings are quite salty already. They’re great fun to make, aren’t they? :)
Toni, I use the same dough for both our pizza bases and this focaccia – you’re right, it’s not a big leap from one to the other! Have fun with the butter – I have an expired carton of cream waiting for me in the fridge too! :)
Celia, what a great idea for a quick packed lunch for work. I wonder how long it would stay “fresh”.
Choc, I’ve made this before and sliced it up and frozen it for school lunches. Provided you freeze it as soon as it’s cool, it defrosts beautifully fresh for lunches!
Hi Celia,
Butter making Keri with the French husband here…. just wanted to let you know Sue & I are sisters. We have another three sisters (and 3 brothers) and we all love your site & refer to it regularly. We tend to let each other know how things turn out when we cook something new from you site….guess what… it’s always positive and great!!
:-)
keep the great stuff happening Celia, you have a fine following.
Keri
Keri, that’s so nice to know that you and Sue are sisters! Thanks for joining the dots for me! Hope you have a wonderful weekend – mine has started already, and I’ve been out in the yard taking photos of the chooks… :)
Celia
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