Homemade Focaccia with Rosemary and Cherry Tomatoes

This is a quickie, both post and recipe, bought to you at the request of the equally delicious Jane Naylor Jones of Edith & Elizabeth (they make uber cute vinyl wall art for a VERY reasonable price! I currently have 2 - a chandelier in my hallway and "Eat Drink & Be Merry" above my dining table).

So there are three smells that give me a a happy feeling deep in my belly:
1. Freshly mown wet grass
2. Mums Roast Pork
3. Freshly baking bread.

Now my office is downwind of a big bakery, daily my nasal passages are assaulted - currently by a never ending waft of Easter Buns (OK - this has been for weeks, as you can buy the damned things year round here in the UK!) So having recently purchased a Kitchenaid, and wanting bread I can eat that isnt going to make me ill like most store bought bread does, I decided to make my own, and now, to satisfy the lovely Jane (who will probably make her husband cook it)...here is the recipe.

Homemade Focaccia with Rosemary and Cherry Tomatoes

1 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups Spelt Flour (you could use plain or wholemeal)
1 tablespoon instant yeast

Topping
Sea Salt
Punnet of cherry tomatoes
Rosemary

Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, by spraying liberally with an olive oil spray if you are trying to be healthy, or drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil if you would prefer.

Combine all of the ingredients (except the topping), and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it's become puffy. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F/190C.

Now for the fun bit, poke the dough all over with your fingertips to make a dappled crater-y effect. Drizzle it lightly with more olive oil (or spritz away), and insert the tomatoes gently into the dough randomly and sprinkle generously with sea salt and rosemary leaves.

Bake the bread until it's golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Other toppings you could use: goats cheese and red onion, garlic, roasted peppers/capsicum, olives and sun dried tomatoes....go forth and watch your dough multiply!


PS: Please excuse the pic - was taken with my camera phone in a rush as the bread was in danger of being consumed by a hungry hoard!