Arabic Sweet Focaccia with Tahini and Dates
Ingredients
- 4 c ‘00’ or all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp dry yeast
- 1 1/2 c water at room temperature
- 2 tsp salt flakes
- 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Toppings
- Tahini
- Coconut sugar
- Pitted dates
- Almonds
- Slivered almonds
- Sesame seeds
- Cardamom powder
- Maple syrup
Preparation
In a large bowl, put flour, yeast, and start with 1 cup of the water. Mix with a chopstick or fork, adding more water as needed depending on the flour.
Add salt and olive oil, and continue mixing with the chopstick.
Use fingers to gather the mix together into a soft dough texture.
Cover with cling wrap and allow to rise for 12 hours.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Lightly oil hands with tahini and gently lift the sticky dough out of the bowl, then spread it into an oven tray lightly brushed with tahini or lined with baking paper.
Create dimples on top of the rolled out dough with the tips of your fingers.
Add the topping in the following order: drizzle with tahini, sprinkle coconut sugar generously, press in pitted dates, press in almonds and slivered almonds, sprinkle a mix of raw and tossed sesame seeds, sprinkle cardamom powder.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bread is golden.
Remove from the oven and lightly brush the edges of the focaccia bread with maple syrup.