Ingredients:

500g strong white bread flour

10g salt

1 tbsp activated charcoal powder

1 sachet (7g) of dried fast-action yeast

400ml lukewarm water

50ml extra virgin olive oil

Rosemary, flaky sea salt, black pepper (for topping)

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, measure out your flour.

Pour in the salt, charcoal powder and yeast and stir to combine.

Add the water and olive oil and give everything a nice mix until you have a fairly consistent, wet, celluloid dough.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm or a towel and leave it somewhere warm or just at room temperature for 1 hour.

After this time, the dough should have relaxed a little bit and become softer and smoother. At this point, lift off the clingfilm/towel.

Oil your hand, slide it to the bottom of the dough and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl by 90 degrees and repeat. Repeat again until you have folded the dough at least 4 times and it appears to hold its own shape a little better.

Return the clingfilm or towel to cover the bowl, and leave it to rest for a further hour.

After this hour, the dough should have doubled in size. This is what happens when the yeast eats up all the sugars in the flour and grows, expelling little bubbles as it goes.

At this stage, repeat the folding process as you did before.

Oil a large baking tray and plop the big bubbly dough out onto it.

Oil your hands again before flattening and stretching the dough out completely into a big rough rounded rectangle type shape. Focaccia isn’t known for being pretty!

Leave this flattened dough to rise for a further hour. In the meantime, preheat your oven – 220 C / 200 C fan / 425 F / gas mark 7.

Once the dough has risen again, and the oven is hot, you can get the dough ready to bake.

Oil your fingers again and use them to push holes all over the dough, this helps ensure an even bake and that classic focaccia appearance! Sprinkle over a little more olive oil, salt, rosemary and black pepper.

Bake the dough in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, it should be well risen and crisp to the touch.

Allow the bread to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, serving and eating.

Time

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Prep : 0 minutes

Cook : 0 minutes

Resting time : 0 minutes

Servings : 4 servings