Foccacia Fabrese | David Lovett

Ingredients 

• 500gm plain flour 
• 350ml warm water
• 80ml olive oil (plus extra for feeding the dough as it proves) 
• 12gm sea salt (plus extra for the top) 
• 11gm dry yeast 

Topping

• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives 
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano 

NOTES - Ingredients can be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled, just make sure you have a tray to accommodate it and an oven to fit it in. 

Method 

1. Preheat your oven, fan on, to 220. 
2. In the large bowl of your KitchenAid add water followed by yeast, flour, oil and salt, in that order. 
3. Mix with dough hook for 8-10mins, just check sides for any flour that may have stuck to the side of the bowl, give a scrape and allow it to mix for another minute or 2. You will end up with a nice dough that will still be a little sticky but nice and soft. 
4. Using a plastic pastry scraper or rubber spatula scrape your ball of dough into a oiled tray about 25cm x 15cm x 3cm or thereabouts. 
5. Pour 20ml olive oil over the dough and leave to prove - about 20-30mins,  it will double in size (this will depend on the temperature of your room; the warmer and more humid, the quicker it will prove whereas a cooler or breezy room will be slower, just keep an eye on it).
6. Pull the now soft and pillowy dough into the size of your tray. Be gentle, keep as much air in as possible. Using both hands lift from underneath and gently pull/stretch the dough lengthways then sideways. If it doesn’t quite reach, that’s fine, as it proves the second time it will reach the edges. 
7. Feed with oil (drizzle about 30ml olive oil over dough)
8. After about 10-15mins (this will again depend on the temperature of your room) using both hands fingers down go into the dough creating holes and maybe some lovely big air bubbles too (I go up and back once, about 6 pokes with all fingers) and give another feed of oil, 30ml
9. Leave for another 10-12mins. 
10. Now add your cherry tomatoes, olives  & dried oregano. 
11. Prove until it’s just popping over the edge of the tray (if you’re using a 3cm high tray, otherwise until it’s risen to about 3cm in the tray you’re using) and your oil is about to over flow from the tray too (again if using 3cm deep tray)
12. Salt generously, about 1-1 1/2 dessert spoons. 
13. Bake at 220 for 12-15mins, it should be beautifully dark golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom of the tray. 
14. Give one final drizzle of oil as soon as she comes out the oven, leave to rest/cool for 20-30 mins before eating.