sourdough focaccia with grapes and rosemary
Sourdough focaccia with grapes and rosemary pairs perfectly with a salty, raw ewe’s milk cheese as a light lunch or as an accompaniment to an autumn picnic. The inky and potent flavor of Concord grapes marries beautifully with the tartness of sourdough focaccia – all perfumed by the woodsy odor of fresh rosemary and drenched in unrefined, extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients
for the sourdough focaccia
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 to 4 cups all-purpose einkorn flour
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
for the grape and rosemary topping
- 1 ½ cups grapes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- coarse sea salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus extra to serve)
- ground black pepper (as it suits you)
Instructions
preparing the dough
- Stir proofed starter, warm water, olive oil, whole grain flour and sea salt together until well combined.
- Pour the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook and mix the ingredients together at a low speed; alternatively, flour your counter and knead the ingredients together until a smooth, pliable ball of dough forms.
- Grease a mixing bowl with a bit of olive oil; place the dough in the bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a slightly damp kitchen towel.
- Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for about four hours.
- Punch it down, and allow it to rise again, until doubled in bulk.
- After it has doubled in bulk, roll the dough into a rectangle about ¾-inch thick. It is now ready for the grapes, rosemary and other toppings.
finishing and baking the sourdough focaccia
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once you’ve rolled out the sourdough, indent its surface with the pads of your fingers or prick its surface with the tines of a fork.
- Toss whole grapes onto the dough’s surface, then sprinkle the dough with coarse sea salt, rosemary needles and coarsely ground black pepper.
- Bake the focaccia on a baking stone in an oven preheated to 475 degrees Fahrenheit for twenty to thirty minutes, or until the bread is browned and crusty.
- Allow the focaccia to cool to room temperature and serve it with additional olive oil.
