The ultimate focaccia recipe | members only access

Makes 1 large focaccia There’s a lot of water in the dough, which you need, as otherwise you can end up with a cakey texture. Focaccia is simple to make, though, because it’s in a pan, so

there’s only one way for it to go. Make sure you push the olives, tomatoes and onions right down into the indentations, and use plenty of olive oil on the bottom and drizzled over the top.

And don’t overbake this one; you want it to stay light and soft inside. INGREDIENTS * Dough * 4 cups bread flour * 1 tsp. fine salt * 3 3/4 tsp. instant dried yeast * 2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus

extra for oiling * 1 1/2 cups water TOPPING * 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata black olives * 1 small red onion * 10 cherry or grape tomatoes * 1 Tbsp. dried oregano * About 2/3 cup olive oil, to

drizzle * Flaky sea salt DIRECTIONS Put all of the dough ingredients into a large bowl and stir together to combine and form a dough. Fold a corner of the dough into the middle and push

firmly, then rotate the bowl 90° and repeat. Continue this folding and turning action for 2 minutes, then tip the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and knead for 10 minutes until soft

and elastic. Alternatively, use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook to mix and knead the dough, for 2 minutes on slow and 7 minutes on medium speed. Put the dough back in the bowl,

cover with a large freezer bag and leave to rise at room temperature for 2 hours until at least doubled in size. Liberally oil the base of a large, shallow baking pan, about 9 by 13 inches.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and stretch it to fit the dimensions of the prepared pan. Drizzle with lots of olive oil and make firm indentations all over the surface with

your fingers. Put the pan into a roomy freezer bag and leave to proof for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the freezer bag and put the olives evenly on the dough, pressing them firmly in

place. Cut the onion into slim wedges and distribute these over the dough, pushing them in too. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and press them evenly into the dough. Drizzle with more olive

oil and sprinkle with the dried oregano and a generous amount of flaky sea salt. Heat your oven to 450°F. Bake the focaccia for 20 minutes or until golden brown. As you take the focaccia

from the oven, drizzle more olive oil over the surface. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool. Adapted from _Bake: My Best Ever Recipes for the Classics._ Text © Paul Hollywood, 2022.

Photographs © Haarala Hamilton, 2022. Reprinted by permission of Bloomsbury. BAKE WITH PAUL Bloomsbury Hollywood shared three recipes from _‘_Bake’ for AARP members to try. VICTORIA SANDWICH

If you’re new to baking, this should be your very first cake. If you get it right, everything else will be easy. CHOCOLATE BROWNIES Even if I say so myself, these are the best brownies

you’ll ever taste.  READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH PAUL HOLLYWOOD.