Earl grey, walnut and lemon focaccia
Who says that focaccia has to be savoury? This recipe takes a focaccia base and turns it into the perfect tea time treat with earl grey oil, crunchy walnuts, and a lemon and vanilla glaze. Use your favourite earl grey for the recipe, but I can highly suggest the pictured tea from @brewteaco ☕️ Make sure to serve this immediately while still hot for the best flavour and texture.
Ingredients
For the focaccia
- 7 grams instant yeast
- 380 ml water
- 500 grams strong bread flour
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 75 grams walnuts, roughly chopped
- 2 earl gray tea bags
- 125 ml water, boiled for steeping the tea
- 3 tbsp olive oil, with extra for greasing
For the glaze
- 200 grams icing sugar
- 2 tbsp reserved tea
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- Zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Put the flour, sugar, and salt and yeast in a bowl. Separate your yeast and salt to opposite sides to avoid early contact. Slowly add the warm water and mix until a dough begins to form. Turn out the dough onto a clean floured surface.
- Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and stretchy. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover until is doubles in size. This can take 2-3 hours depending on the temperature of the room.
- Once doubled in size, punch the dough to remove the air and fold in the chopped walnuts.
- Grease your 25×35 (don’t use a larger pan!) baking tin and stretch the dough out. Cover the tray with oiled cling film and set aside in a warm place for another 30-60 mins or until the tray has filled out.
- While waiting for the dough to rise, fill a measuring jug with 125ml of water and 2 tea bags. Allow the tea to steep for 5 mins. Mix 1 tbsp of tea in with the 3 tbsp of oil until combined.
- Preheat oven to 200c/180 fan.
- Remove the cling film from the dough, coat your hands with olive oil, and use your fingers to dimple the dough all over. Drizzle the tea and oil mixture across the dough and bake for 20-25 mins until golden and hollow when tapped from beneath.
- Mix the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl. Once the bread is cooked, brush the icing on top immediately and enjoy.