Why buy focaccia, if you can easily make it yourself? This Italian rustic bread, sprinkled with sea salt and fresh rosemary is easy to make and tastes so so rich. It goes well with many dishes, such as barbeques, salads and cold cuts. Excellent choice for picnic.

Ingredients

Starter:

• 21 g fresh yeast
• 2 tablespoons white wheat flour
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 100 ml lukewarm water

Dough:

• 500 g white wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 80 ml olive oil
• 200 ml water
• 1 pinch fleur de sel
• 1 sprig rosemary

Method

Prepare the starter by adding crumbled yeast, 2 tablespoons of white wheat flour and a pinch of sugar and salt into 1 dl of lukewarm water to obtain a smooth mixture. Let it rise for approximately 5 minutes.

Then, add the starter to other ingredients and start kneading by hand for 10 minutes. Put the dough in a stand mixer and mix until the dough is elastic.

Place the dough into a well-oiled 30 x 20 cm baking sheet by gently stretching it (to avoid tearing) across length and width of baking sheet in an even layer, working all the way to edges and into corners. The thickness of the dough should be around 1 cm. Drizzle the dough generously with oil and cover tightly with plastic to prevent access of air. Let it rise for approximately one hour or until it almost doubles in size. Oil the dough again. Poke holes in the dough and sprinkle it with sea salt (fleur de sel) and rosemary.

Preheat your oven to 220 °C (top and bottom heater) and bake for 20 min, than lower the temperature to 180 °C and bake for another 10 minutes or until the focaccia is slightly golden. Take it out of the oven, and drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired. Slice, and serve warm or cold.