Focaccia

Is it possible to be this hungry? Although I have been in a kitchen all day, making and eating bread, all I have wanted to do is eat. I'm so very very hungry. But what is it I crave? Bread? Chocolate? More coffee? No I don't thinks so.

Is it possible for your whole being to be hungry? There is a word for this in Portuguese and it is translated as "a longing, or wanting, for someone or something." Its so very beautiful. Why don't we have a word like this in English?

My head has been so busy this week. If only I could quiet it, learn to enjoy being alone, eat less carbs, run more, try harder, be simpler, achieve more, stress less, enjoy more, care less, and do more, then life would be better.

I spent all day in class convinced that my bread wouldn't rise. I was so very sure everyone's food would be better than mine. I took it all very personally. My bred was fine and all my deserts turned out lovely. Some of the other classmates however had huge cooking disasters. One girls cake just didn't rise at all and looked like a flat bread. Why must i be so hard on myself.

I think maybe if I was a bit kinder to myself things would fall into place a lot more. Its my mission for this week. I'll let you know how it goes. I'll start it right now by eating a big plate of lentils and eggplant.....lovely.

I'll give you a nice simple bread recipe to make this weekend. You can make it into a sandwich or serve it with a soup. Enjoy.

Focaccia

What you will need:

• 250 ml of water
• 5g fresh yeast
• 375g bakers flour
• 10g salt (it sounds like a lot, but you need it)
• 20ml of olive oil

What to do:

1. Warm your water on the stove so its blood temperature. You don't want to boil it or some of the water will evaporate and then your mixture will be all wrong.
2. Add your yeast to your water and stir until you cant see it anymore
3. Sift your salt and flour together
4. Make a well in the flour and add the yeast mix, and 10 ml of the oil.
5. Stir it together with your fingers
6. Give it a good knead for 5 mins. If its too dry add some more water, if its too wet add some more flour. Remember though it will look too dry before you knead it, but after a few minutes of working the dough it will look wetter.
7. Put it in a bowl and cover with glad wrap. Leave for 2 hours or until its doubles in size
8. Punch the dough to get some of the gas out of it (get out a bit of pent up anger when you hit it....... I usually think of a relationship that ended badly.......only because its good for the bread)
9. Shape the dough into whatever shaped bread you want.
10. Brush it with the rest of the oil and sit on a tray
11. Leaver for another 30 to 50 mins until it has doubled in size again. Don't worry about needed it to get it into the oven quickly. Give it time to prove properly or your bread wont be happy
12. Place in a preheated oven at 180.
13. If you have made small loves they will take about 15 mins. Large will take around 20 to 25. You will know when they are cooked, if when you tap them on the bottom and they make a hollow noise.

Enjoy your bread and be happy