My lazy focaccia

I call this recipe a lazy one because I feel like I’m betraying some cook’s oath by using a bread maker. It makes me embarrassed when people ask “did you make this from scratch?” because I don’t feel like I have done. Just in the same way that I feel guilty when people praise a meal I’ve made from a recipe. It’s not like I did any work, I just followed instructions. You couldn’t boast you made a table “from scratch” if you picked up a flat pack from Ikea. I don’t really think cooking is that mechanical a process, but whenever I see a chef on TV making a cake in a mixer, rather than with a spoon, I can’t help but think they’re missing the point. Anyway, the reason I use a bread maker? Borderline O.C.D. dad. If I’m seen to be kneading dough on a worktop, with flour going everywhere, my dad freaks out. So out comes my robot helper, and the only mess is a pan to wash.
This recipe makes enough dough for two focaccia loaves, which freeze really well.

Ingredients:

300ml tepid water

500g bread flour

1 dsp. salt

1 dsp. olive oil

2 tsp. yeast.

For toppings: Rosemary, tomatoes, hunks of cheese… whatever you fancy really. Although onions and garlic burn unless already soft (but taste delicious anyway).

Method:

1)      A lot of bread makers don’t really mind if the water is warm or not, but I hate to use too much yeast so always like to give it an extra head start. A book I read recently described “tepid” water as “warm as a baby’s bath”, but seeing as I don’t have a baby, nor have I ever washed one, I just go with warm, but not too hot.

2)      Pour the water into the bottom of the bread pan. Sprinkle over the flour, ensuring the water is completely covered.

3)      In one corner of the pan, add the salt. In another, the olive oil.

4)      Finally, make a well in the centre, making sure not to disturb the water and add the yeast.

5)      Select the dough setting on the machine, and sit back, letting it do the work for you. My machine takes an hour and a half for this.

6)      When the dough is ready, tip it out onto a floured surface and divide into two pieces.

7)      Knead the dough a little, then stretch it out into the shape you’d like your loaves to be (I normally go for a large, off-teardrop). The dough should be only a few centimetres thick, so stretch it about as much as you like.

8)      Set the loaves aside on lined or floured baking sheets and cover with a tea towel for about 45 minutes.

9)      When they’re nice and puffy, it’s time to go crazy with toppings. I went for rosemary and rough salt on one loaf, then whole cherry tomatoes and cracked pepper on the other.

10)   Drizzle with olive oil and place in a hot over, 200° for 15-20 mins, turning them around halfway through in the oven, just in case their sides catch.

It’s tradition now for me and mum-y to eat the first loaf hot from the oven, with cheeses and salami. Then the second the following day, toasted like bruschetta. The stale bread makes amazing croutons too.