Focaccia forever

I've been a bit down since my not so great attempt at macaroons so I thought I would perk myself up with a real favourite, a delicious yet very simple focaccia. It's basically the same recipe you would use for a basic white loaf with the addition of olive oil. I also find you don't need quite as much yeast as the dough doesn't need to rise as much as a normal loaf.

What I love about focaccia is all the tasty toppings you can add. A few classics would be rosemary and rock salt, cherry or sun dried tomatoes. You just need to prod these softly into the dough just before you bake it.

I'd planned to bake this to accompany a new Italian meatball and macaroni dish on a saturday night. The type of comfort food you tend to crave during the winter months. One of the keys to a great focaccia is not to use a too peppery olive oil in your dough mixture. Just try and use a light and fruity one.

As the photos show, it turned out really well. It will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container and is delicious as a light lunch with some ham, cheese etc. A real winner.