Focaccia with Caprese Salad

This is Amanda's favourite food EVER!! She could eat it all day, every day!! :)) In fact when I prepare a good Focaccia for her, I always get extra hugs & kisses xx :)) It is one of the easiest recipes to do, Focaccia is very filling and tasty and you can serve it or even fill it with loads of different ingredients. You can put olives and press them in or even small rosemary sprigs. Our favourite is do a plain, just scattered with coarse sea salt and then serve it with a nice Caprese salad. I love to split it in half, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and put layers of freshly sliced tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and slices of mozzarella....just writing about it is making my mouth water!!! Enjoy it fresh out of the oven....give this a go and you will not be sorry!! You will need...

For the Focaccia

• 600g Strong white flour ("00")
• 300ml lukewarm water
• Half teaspoon sugar
• 7g instant yeast (1 sachet)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt, to taste

For the Caprese salad

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 3 mozzarella balls, sliced
• fresh basil leaves
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Blend the yeast in a measuring jug with 300ml lukewarm water, sugar and the olive oil. Leave it to stand for 10 minutes.
2. Pile the flour into a volcano shaped heap on the working surface. Make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the liquid, start kneading with your hand and adding the yeast mixture until all the liquid has been incorporated.
3. Knead into a smooth dough. 
4. Roll the dough. Do not roll it too thin, leave it about 1cm thick.
5. Place it in a well-oiled, high edged dish, poke it with your finger tips in even places, scatter to taste with the coarse sea salt and cover with cling film and leave to rise for about an hour in warm place.
6. In the meantime preheat the oven to 180°C.
7. After the dough has risen well, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil put into the hot oven and bake for 30 minutes until it is golden in colour.
8. Cut in squares and serve with the Caprese salad.

Enjoy!!! 

R&A