Last weekend our Travel Blog editor Joy tried her hand at baking some real bread. With, you know, yeast. And kneading. It came out a savoury treat, delicious with soup for winter. Here''s the recipe...
Italian flat bread with rosemary recipe
Ingredients
(Makes 1 loaf)
· 2 teaspoons instant yeast
· 250ml lukewarm water
· 375g plain flour
· 2 teaspoons salt
· 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
· Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
· Sea salt
Instructions
- Combine yeast & water, stir and leave for 15 minutes to dissolve completely
- Mix flour & salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre
- Stir in the yeast mixture along with 4 of the tablespoons of oil. Stir from the centre, incorporating flour with each turn, to make a rough dough
- Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth & elastic
- Shape into a ball and leave to rest, covered, in a lightly oiled bowl.
- After 2 hours it should have doubled in size. Punch it down, knead in the rosemary and roll into a 30cm round. Leave to rise slightly for 30 min
- Meanwhile heat the oven to 200 deg C with a baking tray inside
- Dimple the surface of the bread with a finger and drizzle the remaining oil on the top. Slide the dough carefully onto the hot baking tray.
- Bake for 30 – 35 min. If the top becomes brown too fast, slide a sheet of tinfoil, shiny side down, on the top of the loaf to allow the centre to bake without the top burning (especially useful for fan assisted ovens which get very hot fast.
- Once baked, check the centre is cooked through with a skewer, then let the loaf cool on a rack.