This great recipe is a real showstopper and is from Na Hansell’s new book, A Little Bit Brilliant. It can be proved overnight and baked the following day.
250g warm water
1 1/2 tsp dried yeast
300g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil plus extra for the tin
1 - 2 spring onions
4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley, including stalks
4 - 5 cherry or baby plums tomatoes, halved lengthways
A red onion, you will only need a few slices from the centre.
A few capers if you have some
A few pinches of flaky sea salt
1. Pour 200g of the warm water into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the yeast, flour and salt. Mix until there are no dry patches. Cover and rest the dough at room temperature for 30 mins.
2. Knead the dough either by hand or in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for 10 mins until it stretches well without breaking. Once you have that stretchy texture, a little at a time, add the remaining 50g warm water, kneading between each additional until it’s all incorporated.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and leave to prove for 1-2 hours, until bubbled up. Alternatively, you can transfer it to the fridge an prove it (covered) overnight.
Scrape the risen dough into an oiled baking tin. The half-size AGA hard-anodised baking tray is perfect for this. You can line it, if you wish, with greaseproof paper or Bake-O-Glide®.
Gently pull the dough towards the corners, then cover and leave for 30 minutes. Drizzle the proved dough with the olive oil and use oily fingers to make dimples all the way through the dough. Sprinkle with flaky salt and use the topping ingredients (1-2 spring onions, 4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley - including stalks, a few slices of red onion from the centre, cherry or baby plum tomatoes - halved lengthways) to create a garden topping scheme (use the photograph as a guide), or alternatively, just top with a few cherry tomatoes, little sprigs of rosemary and some olives. Or even just flaky salt and a little more olive oil. Add capers for an additional topping if you prefer.
4. Set the dough aside for 30 mins to allow it to recover and bubble up again.
5. Place the tin into the oven. CAST IRON OVEN: on the 4th set of runners with the roasting oven on R8. FAN OVEN: preheated to R8/220C/400f.
6. Bake for 15 - 20 mins until lightly browned and risen.
