Wild Garlic & Rosemary Focaccia
Focaccia is the perfect bread recipe for beginners as it requires no kneading or no prior bread making skills. It’s super easy to make, absolutely delicious and will always impress and please a crowd. Everyone needs a focaccia recipe in their life but especially this one as it incorporates my famous garlic confit.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
Wild Garlic Confit
- 6 bulbs garlic
- 3 cups Olive Oil
- 3 sprigs rosemary
Focaccia
- 700 g bread flour
- 680 g lukewarm water (100 degrees F / 34 degrees C) - 98% hydration
- 7 g dry yeast
- 12 g fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
- 60 g extra virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 12 garlic confit cloves
Instructions
Wild Garlic Confit
- Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
- Peel the garlic by breaking the cloves away and placing them into a heatproof bowl. Submerge in boiling hot water for 5 minutes and drain. The skin will become loose and easy to peel away.
- Place the garlic cloves, thyme and rosemary into an ovenproof dish and fully submerge in olive oil. It's important the garlic is fully submerged in the olive oil so it does not burn. Bake for 2 hours or until the garlic has browned in colour.
- Allow to cool and store in an airtight container or jar with the garlic cloves fully submerged in the olive oil for up to several weeks in the fridge.
Focaccia
- Start by stirring lukewarm water, yeast, and honey in a medium bowl with a whisk. Wait for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes frothy, signalling that the yeast is ready.
- In a different large bowl, whisk flour and salt. Then, pour in the yeast mixture, stirring with a spoon or your hands to form a wet, sticky dough without dry spots. Cover the bowl with plastic or a damp cloth for 10 minutes.
- Afterward, with damp hands, stretch a piece of the dough and fold it across itself. Turn the bowl and repeat this action three more times, covering the dough again for another 10 minutes. This is the stretch and fold method and it will strengthen your dough.
- Continue this stretching and folding process until the dough shapes into a ball.
- Coat a new bowl with 20g of olive oil, place the dough inside, and cover it tightly with plastic. Let it rest in the fridge between 18 to 72 hours; this is the first proof.
- Oil a baking tin with another 20g of olive oil. Move the dough there, gently stretching it to a rough rectangle, but not to the tin's edges—it will spread as it rises. Protect it with a damp cloth and let it rise for 2 to 3 hours in a warm spot.
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F).
- After the rise, dimple the dough with your fingers. Sprinkle garlic confit and rosemary on top, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil from the garlic confit, and season with flaky sea salt. Bake for 30 minutes until golden on top.
- Allow the focaccia to cool slightly before transferring it to a wire rack to rest for 30 minutes.
- Finally, it’s time to cut and enjoy the focaccia, either on its own or with a mix of garlic oil and balsamic vinegar.
Video
