The combination of spicy chorizo, soft goat’s cheese and aromatic rosemary turns this classic Italian bread into a meal. I often serve it with sliced tomatoes dressed with red wine vinegar and olive oil, a crunchy green salad, and a few cold beers.
Ingredients
For the dough
500g strong white bread flour
425ml water
5g fast-action dried yeast
10g salt
A little olive oil, for oiling
Fine polenta or semolina, for dusting
For the topping
100g cured chorizo
75g soft goat’s cheese
4 large sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked
Sea salt
Method
Put the flour, water, yeast and salt into a large bowl and combine to form a very soft, almost batter-like dough. Tip the dough out onto a clean surface.
Drizzle a little olive oil over your hands and begin to knead the dough. It’s a very wet dough, which may feel unusual at first, but it will result in a light and bubbly focaccia. To knead, I find it is easiest to lift the dough up and slap it back down on the work surface, stretching the dough as you do so. After about 5–7 minutes of this process, the dough should begin to feel nice and stretchy. Wipe out the bowl and lightly oil it. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover with cling film or a cloth and leave to rise at room temperature for 1½ hours.
About an hour before the dough finishes rising, light up your wood oven. It should be about 300°C when you come to bake. Drizzle a baking tray with olive oil and dust it with a little polenta. Drizzle a little more oil over your hands. Lift the dough very gently from the bowl onto the tray, gently encouraging it to fill the entire space. Slice the chorizo and dot it over the focaccia. Break up the cheese into chunks and press these into the surface of the dough then scatter with rosemary leaves. Give the surface a generous drizzle of olive oil and transfer the focaccia to the hot wood oven. It should take around 15 minutes to bake at this moderate heat – but do keep checking and turning the tray to ensure the bread doesn’t start to catch. Turn out the focaccia on to a wire rack and leave to cool a little before you tuck in.