We are not huge bakers in the myrealfairy household but we do get the urge now and again to don the aprons and throw the flour around the kitchen.
So for this weekends challenge, something easy was number one on the list of priorities and something that we could all share was the second. We love our food!
Focaccia bread is a great base to add toppings to and we thought it would be great to use our basil and coriander from the pots which our son big M had planted.
Here’s the ingredients and instructions for this quick and easy bread if you fancy giving it a go:
1 (7g) sachet of dried active baking yeast
1 teaspoon of caster sugar
250g plain flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Large pinch of salt
Herbs of your choice
Sprinkle of grated cheese if you wish
First off, dissolve the sugar and yeast in half a cup of warm water and let it stand for about 10 minutes and you’ll see it gets frothy on top.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and the yeast together. Keep adding water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is coming together and you can form a ball. Put it on a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, leave it to stand in a warm place with a damp clean cloth covering the bowl, for about 30 minutes and it will just about double in size.
While it is ‘proving‘ you can get ready your toppings for your bread. We used some herbs tomatoes, onion and garlic but use whatever you feel like. Sprinkle with the salt. Set aside.
Return to the bowl and you will see the difference in size. pop it back onto your floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Stretch the dough out into a rectangle sheet about 1cm thick and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Put your toppings on. Bake in a preheated oven on 240 C or gas mark 9. It should take about 15 minutes but you can leave longer for a crispier bread. Just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
