Garlic Confit Focaccia

Method

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1. Put the garlic cloves, olive oil, rosemary and peppercorns in a small pan over the lowest heat and cook 35 to 40 minutes, until the cloves are soft enough to crush against the side of the pan and pale gold. They must not brown. Cool completely and fish out the rosemary and peppercorns.

   Mark done Start 35 min timer

2. Whisk the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and mix with a wet hand until no dry flour remains — it will be a shaggy, sticky mass.

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3. Cover and leave 30 minutes, then perform four sets of stretch-and-folds 30 minutes apart: wet your hand, lift one side of the dough up and over itself, and rotate the bowl each time.

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4. On the last fold, add 12 of the confit cloves, crushed, and 3 tablespoons of the garlic oil, and fold them through until distributed in streaks.

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5. Cover tightly and refrigerate 12 to 18 hours.

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6. Pour 3 tablespoons of the garlic oil into a 23 x 33 cm tin and spread it across the base and up the sides. Tip the cold dough in, turn it once to coat, and leave at room temperature 2 hours until relaxed and puffy.

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7. Oil your fingers and press straight down through the dough to the base of the tin, all over, to dimple it and spread it into the corners.

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8. Scatter over the remaining whole confit cloves, pressing them into the dimples, then the rosemary leaves and flaky salt, and spoon over 2 more tablespoons of the garlic oil.

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9. Bake at 230°C / 445°F for 22 to 25 minutes, until deep gold and lifting away from the sides.

   Mark done Start 22 min timer

10. Slide it out of the tin onto a rack immediately, or the base steams and softens. Eat warm.

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Chef’s Tips

• The confit keeps for two weeks in the fridge under its oil, and the oil is worth making double of for everything else you cook that week.
• Dimple hard, right through to the tin. Timid dimples spring back and you get a flat loaf instead of a pocketed one.
• A metal tin, well oiled. Glass and ceramic will not fry the base to the crisp underside that makes focaccia focaccia.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.

Pairing Suggestions

• A plate of olive oil and aged balsamic
• Burrata and tomatoes
• A cold glass of Vermentino

Storage & Reheating

Best on the day it is baked. Airtight for 2 days after that, refreshed 5 minutes at 200°C. Freezes cut into squares for 2 months.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.