Ingredients

For the focaccia filling:

• 3 red onions
• 10 garlic cloves
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 2 pinches sea salt
• 1 thyme sprig
• 80g black olives
• 120g sundried tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the focaccia:

• 500g strong white organic bread flour, plus a little extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 15g fresh yeast
• 280ml luke-warm water
• 6–7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Olive oil for brushing the dough before baking

Tools

• Titanium Chef Baker

Method

To make the filling:

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Prepare your ingredients for the focaccia filling. Peel and slice the red onions and garlic cloves. Pick the rosemary and thyme leaves and finely chop them. Coarsely chop the olives and sundried tomatoes and keep them to one side.
3. On a large, deep-sided baking tray, arrange the sliced onion, garlic, rosemary, salt, bay leaves and thyme. Pour over the olive oil and toss well.
4. Cover the tray with tinfoil and roast for 30 minutes (the bread dough can be made in the meantime).
5. After 30 minutes of roasting, transfer the focaccia filling to a bowl and keep it to one side – but please keep the tray with the oil; you’ll be baking the dough in it so that the bread absorbs the fantastic flavours.

To make the focaccia:

1. In the Kenwood stand mixer, using the dough hook, mix the flour and salt together.
2. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 80ml of the water.
3. Pour the yeast mix into the flour in the Kenwood mixing bowl. Add the remaining 200ml water and add 3 tablespoons of the oil. Mix together on speed 1. Once the dough comes together, increase to speed 2 and continue to mix for 4 minutes. (This activates the gluten, giving the bread dough its strength and structure.)
4. Now add the remaining 3-4 tablespoons of oil and – still on speed 2 –continue to mix for a further 4 minutes.
5. Remove the bowl and scrape the dough from the dough hook. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and leave it to prove at room temperature for 30 minutes. (At this stage where you could prove the dough overnight and finish the second proving in the morning – if so, it’s best to do this before you go to bed to avoid the dough from over-proving.)

Filling the dough and baking:

1. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and stretch it into a rectangle which is about 20cm x 40cm – careful not to tear the dough.
2. Evenly spread over the onion and garlic mix, but on the bottom edge, leave a space of a couple of centimetres. Over the onion and garlic mix, spoon the sun-dried tomatoes and olives.
3. From the top edge, roll the dough towards you to form a compact ‘log’. Cut the log into 12 equal-sized pieces and arrange them beside each other on the baking tray so that the spirals of filling face upwards.
4. Cover the dough with a clean cloth and leave it to prove for a final time until it doubles in size; this takes 30-40 minutes.
5. While the dough is proving for the final time, preheat the oven to 230°C.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, brush the top with a little olive oil to help achieve the perfect crust.
7. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until the bread is golden and crisp. Carefully transfer the hot focaccia to a wire cooling rack (if the bread stays on the baking tray for too long, it'll steam itself and lose that lovely crust).
8. Serve with your best olive oil and a chilled bottle of summery, zippy white or rosé.