Olive Focaccia Recipe

Olives are a divisive food; you either love them or hate them. I used to hate olives but I now love them. In fact, I remember a turning point in my teenage years when I suddenly liked olives and felt like I had become an adult! So when I was challenged by Olive It so create an olive-based recipe, I was excited to get creative in the kitchen. I love tapas so I decided to use the olives to create an Olive Focaccia, accompanied by Spanish meats and cheese.

You will need:
1 lb strong white bread flour
1 sachet dried yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil (and some to drizzle over dough)
300ml warm water
1/2 tin or 100g green olives (chopped)
1/2 tin or 100g black olives (chopped)

1. Preheat oven at 200C. Add flour and salt to a large mixing bowl. Then add sugar, yeast and olive oil. Add warm water and mix to a dough.

2. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Rise for 45 minutes.

3. Add the chopped olives to the dough and knead in until distributed throughout.

4. Place into baking tray and spread to fill the tin. I used a 22 x 28cm tray, with a depth of 5cm. Make finger indentations in the top of the dough.

5. Pour olive oil over the top of the dough. Leave to rise for 15 minutes.

6. Bake at 200C for 30 minutes until golden.

I was really pleased with how this recipe turned out; the great quality olive oil added a delicious crust and the chunks of olives were delicious throughout the focaccia. If you love olives, I would recommend using a can, or 200g, of both the green and black olives as you can see that the olives are quite sparse in my version. Although I was initially unsure about the idea of tinned olives, the olives from Olive It! were really tasty, plump and fresh. Accompanied by some Spanish chorizo, Iberian ham and Manchego cheese and, of course, olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip, we were treated to a perfect tapas picnic. 

Are you an olive fan? I’d love to hear if you try my recipe!