Focaccia

I have made a lot of bread lately. The pizza dough setting on my breadmaker makes it all so easy and, along with ciabatta, focaccia is becoming my party piece. Use fresh herbs if you have them available. Otherwise, dried herbs work just as well - you'll only need about a teaspoon each of basil, rosemary and thyme.

Focaccia

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons Surebake yeast
• 450 grams high-grade flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon milk powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter
• 300 ml water

Method

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the breadmaker in the above order. Select the pizza cycle (for Panasonic machines) and start. This is a 45 minute cycle.
2. Place dough on a lightly floured board or bench. Cover with a large bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes. [Sometimes I'm lazy and just leave it in the breadmaker for a bit longer once the cycle has finished. It seems to work.]
3. Shape into a flat circle and place on a baking tray. [I line my tray with baking paper, which makes it easier to clean up.] Make holes with the end of a wooden spoon 5 cm apart all over the surface of the dough.
4. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place (30-35°C) for 20-30 minutes or until almost doubled in size. [I use the proof dough setting on my oven, which keeps the temperature at a consistent 30°C.]
5. Brush surface with olive oil and sprinkle with crushed sea salt, basil, rosemary and thyme.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 210°C for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Focaccia fresh out of the oven