All The Cheese Focaccia

Focaccia! The billowy, mattress-like bread du jour. I’ve seen a lot of focaccia sandwiches, a lot of focaccia gardens. It’s far from being a fad though – its versatility shows everyones favourite bread is here to stay.

Done in 13 hours

Serves 6

Dish by Hugh Woodward

Ingredients

What you'll need:

500g bread flour

15gflaked sea salt

7gdried yeast

350gwater

2 tbsp + 1 tbspolive oil + more for the onions

3onions, sliced thinly

1 tbspflaked sea salt

to tastegorgonzola, or other blue creamy cheese

to tastegoat's cheese

to tasteFresh mozzarella

to garnishChives

100mlhoney

1 tsppul biber

1 tspchilli flakes

1 tspsea salt

Sometimes more is more, and this tangle of caramelised onions and loads of fancy af cheese really encapsulates that philosophy.

Method

God, this one's easy. Start the day before for the focaccia. Get a large mixing bowl and mix the flour, sea salt and yeast together, then add the water. No need to knead - just bring together the mixture until its a shaggy dough.

Cover with clingfilm and set aside, at room temperature, overnight.

The next day, make the caramelised onions. Heat the tbsp of oil in a saucepan and cook the sliced onions low and slow until they are a golden, caramelised mess. Add splashes of water to stop them catching.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Pour the other 2 tbsp of oil into medium sized baking dish and pour in the dough, which will be very bubbly. Use your fingers to stretch it the the corners of the baking dish.

Top with the caramelised onions and three types of cheese, then bake for around 30 mins until cooked through and bubbling with cheese.

To make the hot honey, whisk together honey, chillis and salt over a low heat until the honey is bubbling and has taken on some of the chilli colour.

Drizzle over the focaccia then sprinkle with the chives and serve warm.

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Hugh Woodward

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Hugh's culinary life began aged 14 when he cooked spaghetti hoop burritos to impress girls. Since then his colourful career has taken him to performing in Skegness, making cheese in Peckham, running a wine bar on Columbia Road and reluctantly working in a (briefly) Michelin Starred restaurant. He likes fish, things cooked on charcoal, cheap dinners and London's rich cultural tapestry of food shops. When he's not cooking or eating he can be found mudlarking by the river Thames, buying bits in flea markets and hanging out with his cat Keith.