Taleggio Focaccia (6)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Put the flour into your largest basin then add the yeast, salt and most of the water. Mix the ingredients until you get a soft, slightly sticky dough, adding more water if it seems dry. Keep mixing until you have a dough that is soft, springy and still slightly sticky to the touch.
  2. Flour your work surface and scoop the dough out on to it. Push the dough flat with the palms of your hands then fold the far edge towards you and push it back into the dough with the heel of your hand.
  3. Continue to fold and push the dough. You can forget all that punching and banging that you may have heard about. Keep this up for about 10 minutes, during which time you will feel the dough getting lighter and more springy.
  4. Place the ball of dough back in the bowl, cover with a clean towel and put it somewhere warm – anywhere out of a draught is fine. Over the next 45 minutes to an hour, the dough will double in size.
  5. Cut the risen dough in half. Roll out one half to fit the bottom of a shallow 25cm baking tin, non stick if you’ve got it. Push the dough into the tin, then cover it with thin slices of Taleggio, tucking the sage leaves under as you go.
  6. Drizzle with a little olive oil then roll out the second half of the dough and place it on top of the cheese. Press very firmly round the edges to seal, then cover loosely with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for a further half an hour. Set the oven at 240 C/Gas mark 9.
  7. Make several deep indentations in the top of the dough with your finger, push the olives down into the dough then drizzle over a little olive oil. Scatter the top with flakes of sea salt and bake for 15 minutes till risen and golden. The cheese may ooze out here and there around the middle.