Cherry Tomato and Olive Focaccia
This focaccia tastes like a summer afternoon in Puglia: juicy cherry tomatoes bursting in the oven, salty olives and oregano on a golden crust. We let the dough rest overnight in the fridge, which builds flavour and leaves only a few minutes of work for the next day. Press the tomatoes in cut-side up so they roast rather than bleed into the dough.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 17 h 35 min
- Total
- 18 h 30 min
- Servings
- 10
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 295 kcal
Ingredients
For the dough
For the tin and topping
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What to use instead
Swap the kalamata olives for green olives or capers, and halve the flaky salt.
Makes: 1 focaccia (25 × 35 cm), 10 pieces
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
220 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 200 °C
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Step 1: Mix the dough
Stir together the flour, yeast, salt, water and 2 tablespoons of oil with a spoon or your hand for 2 minutes, into a uniform, sticky dough. Cover and leave for 15 minutes.
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Step 2: Fold
Give the dough two sets of folds, 20 minutes apart: with a wet hand, lift an edge and fold it over the centre, turning the bowl, 4 times. It will become noticeably smoother and stronger.
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Step 3: Overnight rise
Transfer the dough to an oiled lidded container and refrigerate for 12–18 hours. It will roughly double.
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Step 4: Move to the tin
Pour 3 tablespoons of oil into a 25 × 35 cm tin, add the cold dough, tuck the edges under and flip to coat it in oil. Leave for 30 minutes, then gently stretch it into the corners.
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Step 5: Proof in the tin
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 2–2.5 hours, until the dough is puffy, almost doubled and wobbles when you shake the tin. Heat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F).
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Step 6: Top
Drizzle over the remaining oil and, with oiled fingers, press deep dimples right down to the bottom of the tin. Press the tomato halves in cut-side up, add the olives, then sprinkle with oregano and flaky salt.
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Step 7: Bake
Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the focaccia is deep golden, the tomatoes are wrinkled and charred at the edges and the base is browned and crisp.
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Step 8: Cool on a rack
Lift the focaccia out of the tin onto a rack straight away and let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
Tips & variations
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Tip
Don’t overload the top. Too many tomatoes release their juice and leave the dough beneath them damp.
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Variation
Add a thinly sliced garlic clove and a few rings of red onion along with the tomatoes.
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Swap
Swap the kalamata olives for green olives or capers, and halve the flaky salt.
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Storage
Keep in a paper bag for up to 2 days, or freeze in pieces and reheat at 200 °C for 6–8 minutes.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 10 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 295 kcal | 2,950 kcal |
| Protein | 7 g | 65 g |
| Fat | 11 g | 110 g |
| Carbohydrates | 40 g | 400 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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