Olive oil love and a sourdough focaccia
Have you watched 'Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat' on Netflix?? Jini and I absolutely loved it, and we squealed like a bunch of excited children watching Sami Nosrat dig her teeth into the focaccia in Italy. If you have seen it, then you have a very good idea of how Jini feels about focaccia and how excited she was the day we baked our first successful focaccia; soaked in olive oil (though, still less than what Jini wanted to add) and topped with roasted onions and garlic.
In addition to the fact that it tastes divine; crunchy crust and soft airy crumb, focaccia is also one of the easiest, least fussy sourdough breads we have ever made. Just mix all the ingredients in and let the starter work its magic while you go about your life. My favourite part is the playfulness of this bread, the shaping is fairly rustic and once you have done that, you get to dig your fingers into the dough, making indentations for the golden drizzle of olive oil and toppings of your choice.
What you need:
230 gms mature sourdough starter
236 gms water
75 ml olive oil
15g sea salt
512 gms all purpose flour
1 onion, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced finely
How we stir:
Combine the sourdough starter, water, and half the olive oil in a large mixing bowl and stir in the salt.
Add the flour and mix until a sticky dough begins to form. Knead in the bowl with oil on your hands to prevent sticking till you get a smooth looking dough. Cover and let rise for about seven hours at room temperature, till doubled in size.
Generously grease a large baking sheet. Turn the dough out onto the greased baking sheet. Spread it out, by gently pressing the dough. Use your fingers to create indentations in the top of the dough by sinking them in slowly. They should go almost to the bottom of the dough, so that they stay in place even when the dough rises in the oven.
Drizzle over the remaining olive oil, sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt, sliced onions and garlic. Let rise for another 30 minutes in the baking tray
Preheat oven to 250° C
Place pan in preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until you see a golden brown top and edges that have crisped up beautifully.