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With only two main ingredients and no need for yeast, this super easy focaccia will impress on the table at your next Italian feast.
Years ago I did a Cooking Circles cooking demonstration around the theme of how to eat cheaply. One of the things I made was this cheat’s foccacia.
I was a bit nervous about this. I’m not an Italian Nonna so I didn’t want to create something that wasn’t quite right. But the texture of this bread (which essentially only has two main ingredients) was perfect. It only needs 30 minutes to sit, it’s super easy, and if you use homemade yoghurt like I do, it’s super cheap as well. Try it and see!
Preparation time: 5 minutes (plus 30 minutes resting)
Baking: 20 minutes
Ingredients
½ cup Greek or plain yoghurt (homemade is fab)
Pinch of salt
1 ½ cups self-raising flour (approximately)
Olive oil
Rosemary leaves and flowers (optional)
Method
- Add the flour and salt to a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yoghurt. Mix until combined to form a ball. If sticky, add a bit more flour and if too hard, add more yoghurt. Knead for a minute or two, then form into a ball. Place in a bowl, cover with a damp cloth or cling wrap and allow to rest for around 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface, and roll out into a circle. Flour a pizza tray, and place the round dough on top. Allow to rise for a further 15 minutes.
- Using your fingers, poke indents into the focaccia. Slurp some olive oil over the bread, scatter rosemary leaves over the top and sprinkle on salt.
- Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm (I like to scatter on some additional rosemary leaves).
Note: If you have young children in your house, they will love helping to poke holes into the dough.
Approximate cost:
Yoghurt (homemade): 30c
Self raising flour: 20c
Olive oil: 20c
Rosemary: foraged
Total: 70c
Do you have a favourite home-made bread recipe? What about flatbreads?