Tomato and Fennel Seed Focaccia
Ingredients
- 1 x 100g merchant gourmet sun-dried tomatoes, cut into 1cm pieces
- 500g bread flour
- 2 x 7g sachets fast action yeast
- 2 tsp salt
- 290ml lukewarm water
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
- 1 heaped tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp salt flakes, plus a pinch
- flour for dusting
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 240c / gas 9, rack position upper middle shelf
Soak the sundried tomatoes for 10 minutes in warm water
Drain and pat dry
While they soak, put the flour into a large bowl, add the yeast, salt & sugar
Make a little well in the centre
Pour in the water and olive oil
Mix with one hand until everything is well combined
Transfer the mixture to your worktop and knead it for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth
Dust the dough with flour, cover it with a damp but not wet cloth and leave to rest for 20 minutes
Dust your worktop with flour and roll the dough out to a 25 x 20cm rectangle
Spoon the diced sun-dried tomato over centre of the dough
Fold in the edges to enclose the tomato
Turn the rectangle over the top of the lined swiss roll tin
Press and pull out the dough all the way to the edges
Brush the focaccia with extra virgin olive oil
Leave it to prove in a warm place for 40 minutes to an hour until the dough has doubled in size
Once the dough has doubled in size, sprinkle the fennel seeds and salt flakes evenly over the top
Press into the dough with the tips of your fingers to make the pretty little holes
Dust the edges of the focaccia with flour, this is for presentation, so as little or as much as you like
Bake for 12-15 minutes on the top shelf
Leave to cool for 5 minutes then transfer the focaccia from the tin to a cooling rack