Olive Tapenade Focaccia

Every weekend I go to buy olives from the market. It is hard to get good quality olives, but I am lucky that there is a wonderful middle eastern stall that has Kalamata olives that taste like I am in Cyprus. Though they are incredibly delicious, there are always some left over and I usually chop them up and add them to bread, pasta or risotto. Recently, I made this beautiful Olive Tapenade Focaccia bread. 


Ingredients: 


For the focaccia:
400g whole wheat flour
7g dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon raw cane sugar
275ml warm water
25ml olive oil
some semolina
pinch of fine sea salt and a pinch of coarse sea salt.


For the olive filling:
Large handful mixed and chopped olives
1 clove garlic
small glug of olive oil
handful fresh basil

Mix together the flour, yeast, fine salt and sugar together in a bowl and then gradually add the water and olive oil. 


Place the mixture on a surface covered with some semolina and knead for around 10-15 minutes. It should feel soft and not sticky, if needed add a little more flour or olive oil to get the right consistency. Roll into a ball and brush lightly with olive oil. Then place in a bowl, cover with cling-film and leave in a warm place for around 30 mins-1hr.


Meanwhile in a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic, chopped olives, olive oil and basil into a paste. After this time roughly roll the dough out and spread with the tapenade. 


Place on a backing tray, and then fold in half and shape into a circle. Cover with a tea towel and leave for a further 15 minutes. Heat the oven to 220°C.


After 15 minutes, poke indentations into the top of the bread and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until lightly golden.