Potato & Halloumi Focaccia

Delicious focaccia bread flavoured with rosemary and thyme, and topped with potato slices and halloumi

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Focaccia

Prep Time 2 30

Cook Time 25

Total Time 2 55

Servings

Calories 186kcal

Author thebakingexplorer

Ingredients

For the dough

350 g Potatoes
3 tbsp Olive oil
300 g Strong white bread flour
1 tsp Salt
1 Sachet dried yeast (7g)
1 tbsp Dried rosemary
1 tbsp Dried thyme
130-150 ml Water Reserved from cooking the potatoes

For the topping

220 g Potatoes
100 g Halloumi
½ tsp Dried rosemary
½ tsp Dried thyme
Large pinch of Coarse sea salt

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Peel and chop the potatoes for the dough and boil for 25-30 minutes until soft, drain them into a colander over a bowl to reserve the cooking water
Chop the potatoes for the topping (I left the skin on but you can remove it if you prefer) and parboil for 10 minutes, set aside to cool down
Mash the potatoes for the dough up with the olive oil and allow to cool
In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, yeast, rosemary, thyme and salt. (Make sure not to pour the yeast and salt directly onto each other)
Add the mashed potato into the bowl and mix in
Measure out the cooking water and add it bit by bit until a dough forms - you may not need all of the water or you may need a little more
Knead by hand (put olive oil on your hands and work surface if the dough is sticky), or knead in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, for 10 minutes
Place into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film, leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour
While you're waiting, chop up the parboiled potatoes into small wedges and the halloumi into small cubes
Tip the dough out onto a lipped baking tray greased with olive oil and spread it out using your fingers. I used a Wilton Non-Stick Cookie Pan which is 33.7 x 23.5 cm (13.25 x 9.25 inches)
Arrange the halloumi and potato wedges on top, then sprinkle over the extra herbs and salt
Leave to rise for 30 minutes, and pre-heat your oven to 200C Fan/425F/Gas Mark 7
Bake for 25 minutes until golden
Allow to cool, slice and serve, or serve warm. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. It also freezes well

Nutrition