Olive and Rosemary Focaccia (Thermomix or by Hand)

Today we had an aperitif at the office where everyone brought something, and I made an olive and rosemary focaccia-style bread.

Ingredients

• 500 g flour
• 20 g fresh (compressed) yeast
• 250 ml water
• 100 ml olive oil
• ½ spoon sugar
• ½ spoon salt
• A little fresh rosemary
• A handful of green olives

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 °C with a small container of water inside (make sure it can stand the heat).

To make the dough I used the Thermomix, but you don't need one — you can do it by hand, it just takes a bit more effort.

I started by warming the water to 37 °C and dissolving the yeast and a little of the flour in it (Thermomix: 37 °C, speed 2, 2 minutes). Then I added the oil and, little by little, the rest of the flour, gradually increasing the speed up to 6 or 7. Next I kneaded the dough for about 4 minutes on the "dough" (ear of wheat) setting. I chopped a little fresh rosemary and added it to the dough while it kneaded for a moment longer (say 1 minute).

I let the dough rise for about 30 minutes, until it had more or less doubled in volume — in the Thermomix it looks as if it's about to climb out of the top.

I made two versions, one in a typical sponge-cake tray and one in a loaf (plum cake) tin. In both cases I greased the tins with oil using my hands so the dough wouldn't stick. Since my hands were already oily, I used them to handle the dough — that way it doesn't stick to your fingers and is much easier to work with. I divided it between the two tins, pressing it down to cover the whole base.

All that was left was to add the olives: I scattered them on top, cut into small pieces, pressing them in a little with my finger so they sank into the dough. Then into the oven at 200 °C for about 30–35 minutes, and the focaccia is done.

It turned out really well — the proof is that there was plenty of it, and it didn't last long on the table.

🌐 Llegeix aquesta recepta en català