The perfect appetiser – Rosemary and Olive Focaccia!
Focaccia is a great starter served with a good olive oil and balsamic vinegar, dipped into winter soups or as a gourmet sandwich bread stuffed with meatballs and mozzarella. This recipe is fast and forgiving for first time bakers and you can top it with just about anything. Try crumbled blue cheese and walnuts, sun-dried tomato or marbling the dough with pesto and topping with shavings of parmesan.
Method
Start by mixing flour, yeast, 3 tbsp of olive oil and warm water together with salt and knead on a floured surface for 5-10 mins. Form into a ball and leave to prove in a covered bowl for 1 hour in a warm place. Proving may take slightly longer in winter.
Next preheat your pizza oven to 300˚C and turn out your dough onto a floured board. Knock it back and shape into a rough rectangle by folding over the dough and transfer to a lined baking tray. Allow to prove for another 45 mins and then press your toppings into the dough with your finger tips. Add small sprigs of rosemary, olives and a good sprinkle of charcoal sea salt. Then bake in the centre of your oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
Drizzle with the remaining olive oil – the bread will soak this up as it cools. Serve with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and a good bottle of red wine.
This dish was roasted in the Alfa Forni 5 Minuti. For more information and prices, click here.
AVPN, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, is the international standard of the true Neapolitan pizza. It takes its place alongside authentication certificates created in the mid-90s for fine wine, olive oil, cheese and traditional goodies. These stamps of approval help discerning foodies pick out the products that follow strict guidelines, celebrate traditional methods and are [...]
The perfect pizza is a tall order, not least because ‘the perfect pizza’ is pretty subjective. For some, the perfect pizza has pineapple on it; for others, ‘perfect’ is a few basil leaves carefully placed on a Campania buffalo mozzarella and a sauce of San Marzano tomatoes grown in the fertile volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius, all baked in a woodfired pizza oven.
But regardless of the toppings, there are definitely utensils and tools that help you cook your perfect pizza.
How do I make the perfect pizza dough?! Well there’s a question. There are pizza dough recipes galore out there, and one, from Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, that dictates exactly how to make the perfect pizza dough. For a 14-page breakdown , visit the association’s website to get the lowdown on the absorption, stability and [...]
Pea and Mint Pizza Pizza! This garden inspired recipe uses mange tout or sugar snap peas and goats cheese with mint for a really fresh and colourful pizza. It’s surprisingly light to eat and works deliciously with a crispy white wine or glass of rosé. Method Preheat your pizza oven to 375˚C and move your [...]
Rosemary & Olive Focaccia
Focaccia is a great starter served with a good olive oil and balsamic vinegar, dipped into winter soups or as a gourmet sandwich bread stuffed with meatballs and mozzarella. This recipe is fast and forgiving for first time bakers and you can top it with just about anything. Try crumbled blue cheese and walnuts, sun-dried tomato or marbling the dough with pesto and topping with shavings of parmesan.
Method
This dish was roasted in the Alfa Forni 5 Minuti. For more information and prices, click here.
Ingredients
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The perfect pizza is a tall order, not least because ‘the perfect pizza’ is pretty subjective. For some, the perfect pizza has pineapple on it; for others, ‘perfect’ is a few basil leaves carefully placed on a Campania buffalo mozzarella and a sauce of San Marzano tomatoes grown in the fertile volcanic soil of Mount Vesuvius, all baked in a woodfired pizza oven.
But regardless of the toppings, there are definitely utensils and tools that help you cook your perfect pizza.
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Pea and Mint Pizza