Spelt Focaccia with Rosemary

Homemade dough is tasty dough

I mean, who doesn’t taste the love that goes into the craft of baking a beautifully soft and fluffy yet wholesome and herbed focaccia? Exactly! That is why today we’re using our hands – no need to be afraid of kneading and dough sticking to our skin, we can do this. Can you do what the bakery does? Absolutely, yes!

Servings: 1 tasty focaccia

Total time: 45 min (plus rising) 

For the starter

Ingredients

40g rye flour 

55ml lukewarm water

1 tsp raw cane sugar or other sweetener like maple syrup or honey

9g (1 tbsp) dried yeast

For the main dough

Ingredients

200g spelt flour plus more for kneading

30g whole wheat flour 

1 tsp salt 

110ml lukewarm water 

2 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling 

1 tbsp dried herbs (eg oregano or rosemary) 

fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt for sprinkling 

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the starter dough and let rest for about 10 minutes so that the yeast activates. 

2. Add the flour, salt and herbs into a bigger bowl and add in the water, olive oil and starter dough. Use a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients together, then work the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Use only a little bit of flour to knead the dough, as it should remain slightly sticky. Lay the dough into a greased bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for 2 1/2 hours in a warm place. 

3. Shape the dough so that it fits your greased baking pan and press your fingertips into the dough so that you get the focaccia look we’re aiming for. Drizzle some olive oil over the focaccia, sprinkle fresh rosemary twigs and lastly some coarse sea salt. Let the focaccia rise for another hour before baking it at 180°C for 20 – 25 minutes. 

4. Serve with hummus or simply with some good quality olive oil and olives!