Sage and Garlic Focaccia

Focaccia is an Italian bread that has captured the imagination of the world. Known as "Italian country flat-bread", "pizza rustica" or "pizza genovese", this is the original Italian hearth bread made from surplice pieces of dough and baked at a high temperature before the oven cooled for the baking of the massive family loaves. Focaccia is a large flat bread, slightly puffy when fresh and dimpled all over the surface with finger indentations. It can be round, square, or a misshapen rectangle; shape is irrelevant. It is a wonderfully versatile bread,which can be sprinkled with sea salt, herbs, onions, garlic, prosciutto or cheese to enhance its flavour.

Sage and Garlic Focaccia is a simple and commonly prepared version of this loaf. Punctuated with the flavours of olive oil, sage and garlic, this recipe produces a delicious, succulent loaf.

To vary the flavour, use other herbs such as oregano, basil or rosemary and top with black olives, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, ham or cheese. Just don't go overboard - it's not a pizza, although this dough can be used for making pizza.

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Ingredients:

For the Bread Dough:

20g fresh yeast

325-350ml lukewarm water

45ml extra virgin olive oil

500g white bread flour

10ml salt

15ml chopped fresh sage leaves

For the Topping:

60ml extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, chopped

12 fresh sage leaves

Method:

Lightly oil 2 x 10 inch shallow round cake tins. Cream the yeast with 60ml of the warm water, then stir in the remaining water. Stir in the oil.

Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture into the well in the centre of the flour and mix to a soft dough. Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Knock back the dough and turn out on to a lightly floured surface. Gently knead in the chopped sage. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Shape each part into a ball, roll out into a 10 inch circle and place each into a prepared baking tin. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Uncover, and using your fingertips, poke the dough to make deep dimples over the entire surface. Replace the clingfilm cover and leave to rise a further 30 minutes or more until the dough has doubled in size.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C. Drizzle over the olive oil for the topping and sprinkle each loaf evenly with chopped garlic. Dot the sage leaves over the surface. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Immediately remove from the tins and transfer the loaves to a wire rack to cool slightly.

Best served warm.