Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Focaccia Bread with Olives and Habanero Chilli

Focaccia Bread, olives and Habanero Chillies, Italian BreadThis is an easy Focaccia Bread recipe I learned from Mary Berry's Complete Cook Book, a lovely pictorial cookbook published by Dorling Kindersley. I'm still trying out different variations and recipes, but so far, my tried and tested one is this. I used chilli oil made with home grown habanero chillies as a garnish on this bread.

Ingredients
750 grams of flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1 packet or 7 gms of fast acting dried yeast
3-4 tablespoon rosemary ( I use dried herbs) but if you have access to fresh, please use that
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for greasing
250 ml tepid water
2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped olives
A sprinkle of habanero chilli oil

1. Put the flour in a bowl, add the yeast and the rosemary
Make a well in the middle, add oil and water and knead dough to a soft but not sticky consistency. When its smooth and elastic- shape it into a round and place the dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover and keep away in a warm place for an hour till it has doubled in size.
2. Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and knock back with your fists. Knead for 2-3 minutes and then roll it out to form a round shape -5 cm and about 2 inches thick. Oil the baking dish lightly and place the dough in it. Cover with cling film and leave for another hour in a warm place.
3. Brush with chilli oil or plain olive oil, sprinkle the olives and sea salt and bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes at 190 degrees C or 375 degree F.