Focaccia

Instructions

1. Combine flour, salt, yeast and water in a large bowl. Mix with your hands or with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. The bowl should be large enough to allow the dough to rise to 4-6 times its size.
2. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure the edges are well wrapped so that no air gets in. Let rise at room temperature for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours. The dough should rise well in size.
3. Dust the dough with a bit of flour and then turn it out onto a floured work surface. Form it into a ball by folding the edges under the dough itself.
4. Pour half of the olive oil into a cast iron pan and add the dough, allowing the entire dough to be covered in oil. Then place the dough seam side down. Then press the dough out with the palm of your hand so that it spreads evenly in the pan. Then cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature for another two hours. When there is about 30 minutes left in the rising process, you can set the oven to 275C.
5. After two hours, the dough should have risen a little more. Use your fingers to press the dough out further and pop any larger air bubbles. Lift one edge of the dough to release air underneath, and rotate until the dough fills the pan evenly.
6. Press the olives (whole or sliced) into the dough. Pour over the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with coarsely chopped rosemary and sea salt.
7. Bake in the oven until the focaccia is golden brown, about 24 minutes.