Gluten Free Foccaccia

Having been brought up on the small island of Malta, I have spent pretty much all my life surrounded by Mediterranean cuisine, mostly based on Italian food. Apart from the obvious love for pasta and pizza, the variations of both are also highly desirable. 

I am quite often praised for the dips I bring along to parties or get together's. In fact, whenever I ask a friend if they would like me to bring anything along, I'm always demanded: Bring dips! 

I have quite a few recipes for gluten free dips (recipes to follow soon), but not being a fan of raw vegetables, at first I found it quite hard to find an alternative for dipping. I personally love dips and would hate to have to sit and watch my friends dipping away and not be able to join them. 

As an alternative, I started to make home made foccaccia. This versatile Italian style loaf, richly flavoured with olive oil, is crisp on top with a light, airy crumb. It is a great served with dips when entertaining friends and can also be served alone as a starter or as finger food. 

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Ingredients: 

- 450g gluten free white bread flour mix
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tsp fast action dried yeast
- 2 tsp caster sugar 
- 1 tsp salt 
- 6 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing 
- sprinkle of rosemary, ideally fresh
- finely diced onion
- course sea salt, to sprinkle 

Method: 

Sift the flour, xanthan gum, yeast, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Add 300ml of lukewarm water and 3 tablespoons of oil to the flour and mix to a slightly sticky dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove in a warm place for about one hour, or until doubled in size. 

Lightly grease a baking tray. Tip the dough onto a floured surface, knead lightly, and roll out to roughly the same shape as the tray. Lift the dough into the tray and push in to the corners, or sides if using a round tray (I usually use a pizza tray). Cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size again. 

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Firmly press the surface of the dough with your fingertips to give a dimpled effect. Scatter the rosemary and onion on top and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the ground sea salt and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is pale golden brown. 

Recommendation: For extra flavour you can also sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese.