Wild Garlic and Sundried Tomato Focaccia

This week I’ve been foraging, and I had a great find. A field full of wild garlic!! If you’ve never tried it (I hadn’t until my find), it has the aroma and taste of garlic, but isn’t at all overpowering. The strength is similar to what I taste when I buy garlic bread. To celebrate my find, I made this bread, a wild garlic and sundried tomato focaccia. The recipe is super simple if you have a stand mixer, and the end result tastes incredible (far better than any I've bought). It's great to eat on its own, or as a side dish to any Italian feast.

If you can’t find wild garlic, you can add a crushed clove of garlic and spinach leaves instead.

Makes one Focaccia

Ingredients:

• 250g strong white bread flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 sachet (14g) fast-action dried year
• 6-8 sundried tomatoes, drained of oil and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp oil from the sundried tomatoes, plus extra for drizzling
• 200ml warm water
• Flakes of sea salt (fine or course)
• Large handful of wild-garlic, chopped

Method:

1. Pour the flour into the bowl of your stand mixer. To one side of the bowl add the salt and the other side the yeast.

2. Pour in the olive oil and 50ml of the water. With the dough hook attached, begin mixing the dough on a slow speed – it will be very dry.

3. Slowly add the remaining water. Once all of the water has been added, turn the speed of the mixer up to about medium, and leave to knead for 6-8 minutes, or until when the dough looks stretchy and glossy.

4. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with cling film and leave to rise for between 90 minutes and 2 hours, or until doubled in size (and when you press a finger on the dough, the dough lightly springs back). If your kitchen is cold (so the dough isn’t rising), place the bowl on another bowl/tray that has been filled with simmering water. However, make sure that the bowl does not touch the water!

5. Once doubled in size, lightly flour a work surface. Tip the dough out onto the surface, and lightly press down to flatten.

6. Add the chopped wild garlic and sundried tomato, and gently mix in by folding the bread dough over itself, pressing it down, then repeating just until the wild garlic and sundried tomato are distributed throughout the dough.

7. Shape the dough into a rectangle about 2cm thick, then place on a tray lined with baking parchment.  Cover the tray with a plastic bag or loosely with cling film. Leave to prove for one hour.

8. Preheat your oven to 220c/200c fan/ gas mark 7. Remove the cling film, and drizzle oil over the top of the focaccia. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt.

9. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden and firm to the touch.

10.This is best served warm. Lightly drizzle some oil over the focaccia before serving.

11. Enjoy!