Ingredients:
450g flour
1 tsp salt
1 level tsp bicarbonate of soda
350–400ml buttermilk, or sour milk
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tsp Oregano
about 4-5 tbsp of olive oil
Pre-preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 230°C.
- Brush your baking tin or roasting tray generously with olive oil
Steps:
- Sieve the dry ingredients, flour, salt, soda and oregano.
- Make a well in the centre and pour most of the buttermilk in at once. Using one hand, shaped like a claw, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl, adding more butter milk if necessary.
- The dough should be softish, but not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, turn dough out onto a floured board and roll it out so that it fits into the tin.
- Use the tips of your fingers to create dimples in the dough’s surface, to make little wells for the olive oil. Place the garlic on the raw dough
- Bake in a hot oven 230°C for about 30 minutes or until cooked. When cooked, the bread should be nice and golden on both top and bottom.
- If the bread gets a good golden colour and you don’t want it to darken any more while cooking, turn the oven down to 200°C and continue cooking.
- When the focaccia is cooked but still hot, drizzle just a little more olive oil over the top.
- Cool slightly before serving.Adapted from Rachel Allen’s recipe
The Batter Half 