The perfect olive focaccia
	Serves 6 or more It's a great to have a slab of this bread in your kitchen. When you're feeling peckish just wander by and cut yourself a small slice. Top it with something or just eat it plain and you have a delicious quick snack. One can make it in two stages. In fact if you make it the night before you can let it rise in the fridge. Leave it for a couple of hours in the morning and by lunch you can have freshly baked focaccia. There are two types of dried yeast on the market. One you need to activate with a little sugar and warm water and the other you can just add straight into the flour. There isn't much difference between them in how they work but obviously the instant yeast is quicker and easier to use - the choice is yours.

	Olive focaccia 750g bread dough 2 teaspoons dried yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 50ml warm water Or 2 sachets instant yeast 1 teaspoon salt 120ml olive oil 15 black olives 450ml warm water plus 50ml if you are using instant yeast Sprigs of rosemary Coarse sea salt	If you are using the plain dried yeast place the yeast in a bowl with the sugar and the 50ml of warm water. Leave it for about an hour in a warm place until it froths up. If it doesn't froth in this time you may have killed the yeast. It's possible that your water was too hot. You will need to start again. Place the flour, olive oil, salt and chopped olives into a large bowl. If you are using the instant yeast add it to the flour now. Add the 450ml of warm water all at once and quickly mix it in with a regular knife to form a loose dough. Sprinkle your work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Knead it for about 5 minutes and place it back in the bowl. Seal it with cling film and let it rise for 2 hours in warm place. Alternatively, leave it well sealed in the fridge overnight. When your dough has doubled in size take a deep sided tray with the approximate dimensions of 30cm by 20cm or a circular tray of about 30cm in diameter and line it with greaseproof paper. Lightly grease the paper with olive oil and push the dough into the tray with your hands. Stretch it with force to cover the base of your baking tray. If the dough is cold from the fridge this will be a little more difficult. Leave the tray and raw dough in a warm place for about two hours. It may take less time to rise but I like to have a well risen - you could in fact leave it for longer but be careful as the surface of the dough may form a crust. The dough will also rise again in the fridge so you could leave it there until you wish to cook it. When the dough has risen push holes in it with your finger. Sprinkle it with rosemary, course sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a medium oven. As a delicious but simple entree you could make goats cheese crostini. Simply cut some slices of the focaccia, spread them with a little basil pesto, top them with mushed goats cheese and finish it with a cherry tomato. Bake or grill them until the cheese is starting to brown and serve on a small salad. If you have some spare dough (alway make more than you want and keep it wrapped in the fridge in an oiled freezer bag for a few days until you need it) try using it as a pizza or calzone base. Just roll it out as you would a pizza and top it with your favourite toppings. The resulting pizza is soft and delicate with a strong olive flavour running through it. It's very popular with my family!
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