OLIVE & OLIVE OIL FOCACCIA

This is a lovely way to use a whole jar of olives together with the olive oil and spices they are preserved in.It’s best eaten the day it is baked but we can’t imagine there will be any leftover to store anyway!

You will need a large bowl and a baking tin of approx. 9×14 in with high sides of at least 5 cm.

Ingredients

1 jar of Odysea Alexandria Style Olives (including the olive oil & spices)

500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting

10g dried fast action yeast

2 level tsp fine salt

400ml warm water

1 tsp polenta

1 small onion, sliced thinly

pinch of coarse sea salt

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix the flour, yeast and salt. Add the water and stir in with the end of a wooden spoon, until you have a wet dough. Tip onto a well floured surface and knead for 6-7 minutes.
  2. Flour a large bowl and put the dough on top. The flour will stop the dough from sticking. Cover the bowl with a cling film and put in a warm place for 45 minutes to an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
  3. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the olive oil from the jar and spread with your fingers over the bottom and the sides of the tin.
  4. Sprinkle a teaspoon of polenta over the oil, this helps the bread from rising and gives it a good crunchy base.
  5. Tip the dough into the tin and spread it out evenly, cover with cling film and let it rise for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 220C or 200C for fan assisted.
  6. Remove the cling film and press your finger into the dough to make holes, almost touching the bottom.
  7. Scatter the olives onto the dough, tear some up, press some into the holes, scatter the onion and then drizzle the remaining oil from the jar all over.

Sprinkle with a large pinch of coarse sea salt and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cool in the tin a little before taking out to slice.