A party trick is something that looks impressive but is actually easy once you’ve seen the magic.  This (genuine) no knead focaccia is the party trick of baking.  Have the equipment and ingredients, follow the instructions and voila.  The only thing you do need is time; this bread requires an overnight rise.  But it’s worth the planning.

Focaccia ready for eating

I found this recipe, thought ‘that will never work’ . Knock me down with a feather – it did work.  And it’s worked every time since.  This is an absolute favourite of the family and it disappears faster than I can make it.  I learned to  make (at least) two loaves. I decorate mine with sliced black olives, rosemary and sea salt – but you can omit any of these and substitute at will.  Sun dried tomatoes,  caramelised onions, use your imagination.  The olives tend to put younger children off which is a good outcome for greedy grownups.

Read the recipe through, there is a lot of elapsed time here; an overnight rise, a second rise in the pan for two hours.  Labour low, time high.

As always, instructions written for the non-expert.

Equipment

• A 25 cm or 10 inch diameter cake pan (same shape as you would cook a sponge cake in).  Pan diameter is important – a 25 cm diameter pan has a surface area of 490 scm.  A 22 cm diameter pan has a surface area of 380 scm, its 22% smaller.
• Parchment paper
• A shower cap or cling film
• Large bowl
• Dough scraper (always helpful)

Ingredients

• 500 grams white flour; all purpose or bread flour.  Any old white flour NOT self raising
• 15 grams rock salt or 10 grams fine ground salt
• 4 grams instant dry yeast ( NOT fresh, not fast rising) – Amazon it if you must (don’t worry about the flour, worry about the yeast)
  (dry ingredients)
• 325 mls water, room temperature
• 1/4 olive oil (divided)
• 10-20 pitted black olives, sliced
• Fresh rosemary, don’t chop it but pick the leaves off the stalk, about 2 tablespoons
• Coarse salt

Instructions

Remember, It’s the night BEFORE you want to serve the bread.

Put the dry ingredients in a fairly large bowl and stir well to combine (flour, salt, yeast).  Salt and yeast are not great friends so I put the flour in first then salt on one side of the bowl and the yeast on the other.  Once they’re combined with the flour, its fine.

Pour the water into the dry ingredients, stir to mix well.  You should have a wet looking dough, like this. Cover with your shower cap or cling film and leave for at least 10 but up to 24 hours.  Does not need to be in the refrigerator.

Dough ready for proving.Next day…..

Line the bottom of your cake pan with parchment paper.  And coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Prep a cake pan 10 inches or 25 cm in diameter.

Your dough will have expanded and more than doubled in size but it will be soft and a bit sticky.  Lightly flour your work surface and sprinkle some flour across the top of the dough.  Using your dough scraper or a spatula, scrape out the dough onto the work surface and form it into a dome (flat on the bottom, round on top).  Turn the dough and tuck the edges under.  You want the top to be smooth and rounded – this keeps the dough hydrated.   Put the dough in the pan, start with the domed top, coat it with the olive oil and then turn it over.  Give it a bit of a squish to flatten it into sort of a disk.  Now cover the cake pan with your shower cap or cling film and leave for about two hours.

focaccia, dough, second rise

Preheat your oven to 225C (210C fan).

Prep your olives, rosemary and have the olive oil and coarse salt ready.   The dough will have expanded to fill most of pan.  Press it down to fill the pan and then lift the bottom edge of the dough, moving around the pan, pressing out the air bubbles and making sure the oil has coated the bottom.

Sprinkle your olives and rosemary across the top and press FIRMLY into the dough.  If there are kids around, get them to help with this – they love it.  If the olives and rosemary are not in the dough, they will be scorched bits of vegetable matter.  This is not what we’re looking for.   Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the coarse salt.

focaccia, dough olives, rosemary,

Put the pan in the middle of the hot oven for at least 15 minutes and as long as 20 or 24 minutes until golden brown.

Let it cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes.  It should come out easily. You can serve immediately, serve it after it is fully cooled or warm it up in the oven later before serving.

I hope your family and friends love this bread as much as mine.

Keep on baking!