Black Garlic Focaccia

SERVES: 6

PREP TIME: 60 minutes

COOK TIME: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• ●     750g warm water

  ●     900g strong white bread flour

  ●     100g wholemeal flour

  ●     200g active sourdough starter (or 7g instant yeast

  ●     20g fine salt

  ●     Extra virgin olive oil

  ●     12-15 Original Black Garlic Cloves or 8-10 white garlic cloves

  ●     4 sprigs fresh rosemary

  ●     Generous grinding of sea salt flakes

METHOD

Combine warm water and sourdough starter until dissolved. Add both flours and mix until no dry patches remain.

Sprinkle salt over the dough and fold it in using a series of pinches and folds.

Perform 2 sets of folds, 30 minutes apart, to strengthen the dough.

Let the dough rise for 3-4 hours at warm room temperature until puffy and expanded.

Use a dough scraper or knife to split the dough into two equal portions.

Line and oil two baking dishes generously. Transfer each dough half into a dish.

Cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight for maximum flavour.

When you’re ready to bake, heat the oven to 220°C for at least 30 minutes.

With wet hands, gently dimple the dough until large bubbles rise to the surface. Work gently to avoid popping those lovely bubbles!

Drizzle olive oil generously. Press black garlic cloves deep into the dough, add rosemary sprigs, and finish with a good grind of sea salt.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then rotate the trays, reduce heat to 200°C, and bake another 20 minutes. The crust should be beautifully golden and crispy.

Remove the focaccia from the oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, before removing the focaccia from the trays. Allow to cool completely before serving, with a little extra drizzle of olive oil if you fancy

No starter? No problem. Instant yeast will work beautifully here. Just make the following switches:

●     Use 7g instant yeast (one sachet) instead of 200g starter.

●     Mix yeast directly into the flour before adding water.

●     Reduce bulk fermentation to 1.5 hours (if it’s especially warm, 1 hour will be enough)

●     Cold prove overnight exactly as in the sourdough version, yeast doughs benefit hugely from this too.

Recipe by Lara Green

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