I love focaccia….a lot. But I never tried making it because I assumed it would be kinda difficult to make, turns out is not. It’s actually pretty easy to make you just need some time, it’s a bit of a long process. But also most of that time you’re not actually doing anything. There’s a lot of waiting around in this recipe but it is definitely worth it in the end.
For this recipe I brushed some honey on top to act as a ‘glaze’. I saw that honey focaccia was a thing, so I wanted to try it because I love a sweet and salty combo. However, you don’t have to do this, you can skip this part or you could also add other things to this. Make whatever kind of focaccia you want!
A few tips:
- I use instant yeast, I find it easier to use. With instant yeast you don’t need to activate it, you can add it in with the rest of your ingredients. If you only have active yeast, make sure to activate it first by mixing it with the warm water in the recipe. Leave this aside for 10 minutes then add it in with the rest of the ingredients.
- Once the dough has been made, you need to leave this to rise, in the fridge, for 12 hours at least. Don’t try skipping this part or taking it out earlier. The bread won’t have that airy, bubbly texture to it if you skip this.
- You’re going to be touching this dough with your hands quite a lot when making this. The dough is sticky, so I recommend rubbing you hands with oil every time you’re about to touch it.
Honey Focaccia
Ingredients
- For the dough:
500g plain flour
12g instant yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated sugar
450ml warm water
Plus some olive oil
- For the honey glaze:
100g honey
1 tbsp water
Directions
- Making the dough:
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and water, just until a dough forms and you can't see any flour any more.
- You're looking to get a dough that is stretchy and a little sticky. It will look a lumpy, that's ok.
- The 1st Rise:
- Drizzle some olive oil over this dough, then using your hands rub the oil all over it.
- Cover the bowl with some cling film and leave this dough to rise in the fridge overnight.
- The 2nd Rise:
- The next day, the dough should look bubbly and it should have almost doubled in volume.
- Get a baking tin that has high sides, I used a 8x12 inch one for this.
- Drizzle some olive oil onto this tin, then add the dough into it and flatten it out using your hands. It is ok if the dough doesn't reach the edges of the tray, once it has risen it eventually will.
- Cover the tray and leave this to rise, in a warm place this time, for around 2 hours. Once again, it will look bubbly and have almost doubled in volume after the 2 hours.
- Baking the bread:
- About 10 minutes before the 2 hours is over, pre-heat your oven to 220c/425f.
- Once the dough has risen, drizzle some more olive oil on top of it and then use your fingers to dimple the top of the dough. I also added some flaky salt on top, but you can add whatever you want to this.
- Bake for around 20-25 minutes, you're looking for it to be golden brown on top.
- The glaze:
- Once the focaccia has baked, you can make the glaze. So just heat together the honey and water until it is runny. I did this on a pot over low heat but using a microwave works too.
- Brush this over the surface of the focaccia whiles it is still hot, let the bread cool down for a bit and then you are done!
