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Ingredients:

(Serves 4)  

For the focaccia:

100g active sourdough starter

400ml warm water

500g strong white bread flour (I like to use Shipton Mill)

10g sea salt flakes – muddle until fine (plus several extra pinches of sea salt flakes to sprinkle over the focaccia)

100-120ml Extra Virgin olive oil

20g Grana Padano Riserva, finely grated 

1-2 sprigs of rosemary 

For the rosemary salt:

2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed from stalks

1 tbsp sea salt flakes


For the confit garlic tomatoes:

2 vines of cherry tomatoes (I use around 20 cherry tomatoes)

½ or whole bulb of garlic, slightly crushed, left in skins

350 ml Extra Virgin olive oil 

A splash of sherry vinegar

Two slithers of lemon rind

½ tsp black pepper corns

1 bay leaf

To serve:

Grana Padano Riserva shavings 

For this focaccia you will need a 9inch x 13inch baking tray with high edges 

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 Sourdough Focaccia with Grana Padano Riserva, rosemary salt and a side of confit garlic tomatoes

Sourdough Focaccia with Grana Padano Riserva, rosemary salt and a side of confit garlic tomatoes - in collaboration with Grana Padano

I’m ecstatic to be continuing my work with Grana Padano as one of their Tastemakers this year. What better way to kick off the partnership than with this delicious, sourdough Grana Padano focaccia. A sourdough focaccia is one of life’s greatest pleasures; the crunch you encounter on that first bite, met with the pillowy softness of the bread set against a rich, oily backdrop with pops of salt crystals, it's utter joy. I add in rosemary for fragrance and Grana Padano Riserva for a rich, nutty flavour … truly nothing else can compete. For this recipe I have chosen to use Grana Padano Riserva which is aged for over 20 months and provides a rich and intense flavour, which perfectly complements the tanginess of the sourdough.

This focaccia is delicious topped with an extra sprinkling of Grana Padano Riserva and served with a side of rosemary salt and a pot of confit cherry tomatoes laced with sweet cloves of garlic and lemon rind. This dish makes the perfect starter and an even better sandwich!

I’ve opted for a longer proving time to intensify the sourdough flavour and I’d also recommend preheating a pizza stone (if you have one) and then baking your focaccia tin on top of it. This really helps create the crunchy base, focaccia is known (and loved) for. 

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Method:  

Starter test:

  1. 1. To check your starter is active, take a teaspoon of the starter and gently it drop into a glass of warm water. If it’s active, then it will float in the water. If it sinks, you’ll need to feed the starter with rye flour and then test it again in a couple of hours

To make the dough:

  1. 2. Combine 100g of your starter with 400ml of warm water into a large bowl and mix until the starter has almost completely dissolved

  2. 3. Add in 500g flour and mix until you have a rough dough and then cover with a tea towel and leave for around an hour, so the mixture comes together

  3. 4. Next sprinkle 10g of salt over the dough. Wet your hands (to avoid the dough sticking to your hands) and thoroughly mix in the salt, scrunching the salt into the dough. Cover and leave the dough for another 30 minutes

Stretching the dough:

(There are several ways to stretch the dough and I’ve shared two methods below)

  1. 1. Pull up the edges of the dough and gently stretch each side over the top of the dough. Turn the bowl and repeat the process until you’ve stretched all sides of the dough. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in between each stretch. Repeat for 3.5 hours

Or

  1. 1. Wet your hands and then carefully lift or scoop the dough (hands either side of the dough) about 30cm above the bowl and allow gravity to gently stretch the top and bottom of the dough. As you place the dough back in the bowl fold the dough over one end (make a rule of it always being the north end) of the stretched dough. Turn 180 degrees and repeat, then turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat again twice until all sides of the dough have been stretched and essentially folded over themselves. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes in between each stretch. Repeat for 3.5 hours

To make the focaccia:

  1. 1. Generously oil the base and edges of your baking tray and wet or oil your hands so you can very gently pour your dough into the baking tray. Be careful not to tear or overstretch the dough or to knock out the air bubbles you’ve already created. Drizzle with olive oil and gently rub over the top of the dough. If it hasn’t reached the corners of the tray don’t worry, as it rests and rises it will do

  2. 2. For extra cheesy focaccia you can sprinkle over half of your finely grated Grana Padano Riserva onto one half of the dough as you pour it into your baking tray. The trick is to then fold the other half of the dough over to create a layer

  3. 3. Leave the dough uncovered in a warm room for 3-4 hours or leave overnight (up to 18 hours) in the fridge. Note - for this recipe I let the dough prove for 4 hours in a warm room then let it prove in the fridge overnight which achieved a sourer tasting focaccia, so adjust the method to your preference. Once it’s risen and almost doubled in volume, you are ready to bake

  4. 4. When the bread is ready to bake, preheat your oven to 220°C. I also heat a pizza stone and place the tray of focaccia on top of it to achieve a crunchier base so allow extra time (around 20 minutes) for the pizza stone to preheat, if you’re using one

  5. 5. Using your fingertips, make deep dimples in the dough, drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkle over the finely grated Grana Padano Riserva. Dot around the sprigs of rosemary, removing any of the larger harder twig like stalks, add a little extra sea salt flakes (the Grana Padano Riserva will also provide seasoning) and then bake for around 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Check your focaccia after 15 minutes and turn if it’s baking unevenly

  6. 6. Allow the focaccia to cool before turning out of the tray and slicing

  7. 7. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients needed for the confit garlic tomatoes and roast on 140°C for around 1.5hrs-2hrs, until soft and the tomatoes and garlic start to caramelise. Allow to cool before serving

  8. 8. For the rosemary salt, muddle the rosemary leaves and salt flakes together in pestle and mortar until vibrant, green and smooth

  9. 9. Serve with some extra shavings of Grana Padano Riserva, rosemary salt and a side of confit cherry tomatoes and garlic