Homemade Focaccia

Sponge

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a small bowl.

Add the flour and mix it with a spatula until it comes together.

Cover it with plastic wrap and leave out in room temperature overnight.

Dough

Put the sponge in a mixing bowl.

Add the water, sugar and yeast to it and mix it all in using the dough hook.

Add the flour and salt and mix it for 15mins. The dough should be homogeneous and very wet.

Cover it with plastic wrap and leave it for 1 hour.

Wet your hands and start to pull the outside of the dough and folding it into the middle (watch video for visual explanation). Repeat until you've gone all around the dough.

Cover it and let it rest for another 30mins.

Repeat the folding process with wet hands. In a baking pan, put a generous amount of olive oil and spread it around. Gently pour the dough in the pan. Put some olive oil on top, cover it and let it proof for 30 more minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap very gently. Drizzle more olive oil on top if needed then using the tip of your fingers, poke the dough very gently and not all the way through.

Sprinkle the salt and rosemary. Pre heat the oven to 425°F

Bake it for 20 minutes, then remove it from the pan and bake it on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Serve it hot or wait until it cools down. It goes well with pasta sauce or dipped in olive oil.