Rosemary & sea salt focaccia

Place the flour, 2 tbsp olive oil, yeast and salt in a large bowl, taking care to sprinkle the yeast and salt on opposite sides of the bo wl to avoid killing the yeast. Pour in 250ml warm water and stir to form a shaggy dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding 100-150ml more warm water until you have a very soft, sticky dough. This is best done in a stand mixer, or with a lot of elbow grease.

With wet hands, gently ease the dough away from the bowl and form into a rough ball. Pull up gently from the middle until it comes away, then carefully lower it back in, so the ends tuck under the middle. Give the bowl a ¼ turn, pull and tuck and repeat 2 more times, then cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Repeat the pulling and resting process twice more, then cover and leave to rise for 2-3 hours, until doubled in size and bubbly.

Line a deep, rectangular metal tray, (about 33x23x5cm) with baking parchment, oil your hands and carefully move the dough to the tray. Drizzle over 1 tbsp oil and gently push and stretch the dough almost to the edges (try not to tear it). Cover loosely, then set aside to prove for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until almost doubled in size, jiggly when the tin is shaken and with large air bubbles.

Preheat the oven to 250°C, gas mark 9. Once the focaccia has proved, pour the remaining 4 tbsp oil over, dimple it all over with your fingertips, then scatter over the rosemary and sea salt flakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen, deep golden and crusty. Remove from the oven, drizzle over more oil, if you like, and transfer to a wire rack. Cool until just warm, then slice thickly. The focaccia is best on the day it’s baked