1. Add water, sugar, yeast and a pinch of flour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Or if making by hand the trusty mixing bowl. Let that sit until it starts to foam (An indicator the yeast is alive). Preheat oven to 200’c Conventional or 180’c Fan forced.

2. Then slowly add your flour and mix on a low speed until roughly combined. Pour in half of your olive oil and salt (reserve the rest for the top of Focaccia later).

3. Knead for roughly 6 – 8 minutes, you can tell the gluten is adequately developed via the Windowpane test (See Note 1). Place dough onto bench and pre-round into a ball, place into a lightly oiled bowl and leave until doubled in size. Time can vary depending on the environment.

4. Once doubled, place it on the bench again and lightly knead it for 30 seconds, this knocks out some of the air. This step will enable the dough to rise again. Once knocked back press into a baking sheet gently and using your fingers lightly dimple the top, drizzle with the rest of the olive oil, and top with salt and rosemary (Or whatever you want). Leave it to proof again until almost doubled.

5. A great tip is to pre-steam your oven before placing your bread inside. Steam will assist in the initial rise of your bread and help give it a crunchier exterior (See Note 2).  

6. Place bread into the oven for around 20 minutes. Times may vary depending on the oven. You can tell when the bread is ready by tapping on the bottom. It should sound hollow.

7. Once the bread is finished, place it on a cooling rack and let it rest. This is a crucial step to get the best results. But if you can’t wait, which I don’t blame you, then get slicing. You can always make another one 😀