Recipe: Focaccia

This may look like a lot of focaccia for one recipe but I've scaled it up in order to make some personal ones for loved ones. It was a good excuse to use some of the goodies I took from my Dad's vegetable patch earlier in the week. Mainly the rosemary...I made the train home smell very pleasant.

I also have a lot of peppers and chilli which I plan to make into chilli jam, a family favourite.

Here I made a classic rosemary focaccia with lots of oil and salt, and a few onions. The other two were more a case of throwing whatever I could find. 

Focaccia
(Makes three 7" individual focaccias or a giant one to 'share', alternatively half the ingredients to make a more regular size)

700g strong white flour
16g salt
6g instant yeast
approx. 500ml lukewarm water
3tbsp oil
toppings of choice

Stir the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Gently add the water, mixing well with your hands. The dough should become smooth and sticky after working it for 7 minutes.

Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight to prove. The next day, take out of the fridge and leave to acclimatise at room temperature for 30 minutes. Alternatively, set aside and prove at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.

Stretch and fold the dough to knock out some air and leave once more for 50 minutes.

Shape the dough to desired shape/size on a floured work surface. Or, if like me you like to make as little mess as possible, press into a sandwich cake tin. Poke your fingers through the surface for air holes. Sprinkle with oil, scatter with toppings and season.

Bake at 200 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

And just for fun(ish)...

Balthazar Boulangerie, Russel St.

Balthazar's Russel Street window display.

       Late last year a friend and I flew out to New York with a list of sight seeing to fill 7 days. By sight seeing I mean Sprinkle's cupcake ATM, Dylan's Candy Bar, Bosie Tea Parlour.....get the gist? At the top of this list was Balthazar's Boulangerie. I'd heard great things about their macarons and was so excited to finally try them out for myself.

     Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy hit during our first few days in the City and those 7 days were the most surreal I've ever encountered. Our days were spent walking around for hours on end in the wind and rain observing the aftermath. I would feel bad if I said Hurricane Sandy ruined our holiday, so many lost their lives, homes and were subjected to complete devastation, we were fortunate enough to have been staying within the evacuation zone and were completely safe the whole time.

     As you can imagine, when I first heard that Balthazar was to open in London I was excited that I'd finally be able to get my sweet tooth around one of their macarons. And that's exactly what I did today. So thank you Mr. McNally for sending your sweet treats across the Atlantic for us to enjoy, you did not disappoint!

Balthazar's Russel Street bread and lunch selection.

     Unlike all the rumours I've heard, I didn't have to queue and was served immediately by a very helpful member of staff. Two different breads were recommended to me; a rosemary salted focaccia and a potato-onion roll. 

Potato-Onion Roll.

Rosemary Focaccia. 

     Both entirely different but equally as good. I tried a small hunk of each, before photographing and can safely say that the focaccia with a little bit of balsamic oil is the perfect flavour combination. The roll has a hint of caramelised onions and baked potato but however good it tastes, I'm not sure what to eat with it. Any suggestions?

     And finally on to my favourite part...the macaron. I would like to think of myself as a macaron connoisseur (I did take three trips to Paris in 2012 alone) so what I am about to say is based on my professional macaron munching opinion:

      This is the best macaron you will ever eat. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise!

     Similar to Pierre Hermé's Ispahan, this macaron au framboise sandwiches fresh lemon cream with white chocolate, fresh raspberries and a secret raspberry centre. Heavenly.

  
     The Restaurant and Boulangerie can be found peeping out of Russel Street on the corner of Wellington Street. I just hope that the wholesale boulangerie in Waterloo arches is open to the public soon, then I can stop by on my route to work.

And here's some pictures from NYC!