Three Flavoured Focaccia

Jamie Oliver claims that this focaccia is not fussy as in its pretty easy and straight forward - and I'm pretty much inclined to believe him as I've tried several of his recipes to great success. . Like Jamie, I made this one lazy weekend afternoon for dinner that evening.

I didn't even bother with my breadmaker as I'm usually quite lazy and would prefer not to hand knead anything. Since this only need five minutes of arm power, I decided to do so. It wasn't too bad after all! Very soon the focaccia was ready to proof and I set about making the toppings. I didn't follow his recipe for the toppings exactly and I made some substitutions yet it was still great! The caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes and cheese toppings went very well with the soft, fluffy focaccia bread. 

The great thing about the this focaccia is that you actually get to eat three different flavours all at once. My family really enjoyed this recipe and I'd be sure to do it again soon. 

Three Flavour Focaccia (1 12 inch by 10 inch tray)

Recipe by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

          

For the dough

• 400 g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
• 100 g fine ground semolina flour or strong white bread flour
• sea salt
• 1 sachet dried yeast (2 1/4 tsp of instant yeas)
• ½ tablespoon golden caster sugar
• 300 ml water, lukewarm
• olive oil

Onion topping

• 2 red onions, finely sliced (I used white)
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Basil and cherry tomato topping

• 1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
• 1 large handful ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• white wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

For the three-cheese and rosemary topping

• 30 g Taleggio cheese
• 1 small log goat's cheese
• 1 handful Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked

Method

1. Dough

•  Place the flours and ½ tablespoon of sea salt into a large bowl, and make a well in the middle. Add the yeast and sugar to the lukewarm water, and mix with a fork. Leave this for a few minutes and, when it starts to foam, slowly pour it into the well, mixing with a fork as you go.
• As soon as all the ingredients come together, which may take a minute or so, knead vigorously for around 5 minutes until you have a smooth, springy, soft dough.
• Lightly oil a large bowl with some olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Dust with a little extra flour, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes until doubled in size.
• While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 and prepare the toppings (I baked at 190°C).

2. Prepare the toppings -

• Onion Topping: For the balsamic onion topping, fry the sliced onions and thyme leaves in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, reduce for a minute or two, then leave to cool.
• Basil and cherry tomato topping: Roughly chop the basil leaves and pop them into a bowl with the cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a tiny splash of white wine vinegar. Add the garlic and mix it all.

3.  Back to the dough

• To cook the focaccia, as soon as the dough has risen, pound it then place on a baking tray and spread it out to cover the tray. Push down roughly on top of the dough like a piano to make lots of rough dips and wells.
• Divide the onion and the tomato toppings over two thirds of the focaccia. 
• For the three-cheese and rosemary topping, break up the Taleggio and the goat's cheese over the remaining third of the focaccia. Sprinkle over the grated Parmesan and rosemary leaves and season with pepper. Finish with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. 
• Leave to prove for a further 20 minutes then bake for 20 minutes, until golden on top and soft in the middle.

This is for Cook Like A Star hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake.