Simple Mediterranean focaccia- gluten free

Gosh, this weekend has become quite eventful!

It’s not something I’ve drawn a lot of attention to, but I have mentioned it in this post, and I also gave a little teaser in this silent sunday that I am a pole fitness instructor, having recently qualified and looking to set up more classes of my own. Well, fingers crossed but all seems as though it could be coming together, I have a venue and now just need to drum up some interest for people to sign up for a taster session this coming tuesday…..so it is all very exciting! My phone has been 'dinging' with text and facebook notifications all morning.

Friday is often my main day of baking, but yesterday ended up being so chaotic running in and out the house I barely had half an hour to sit down. This recipe was a thought in the back of my mind a few days ago, I had scribbled some notes on paper and was then reminded of it as I realised I needed a quick and speedy lunch. I was so happy when it turned out so much better than I’d anticipated!

So here you have it, a super quick and simply gluten free focaccia. Note, this is not an ‘authentic’ focaccia as it doesn’t use yeast but is in effect a quick bread based on this flatbread recipe.  I baked the bread instead of grilled it since I could not flip it over with its topping in place, it worked so well and the olive oil glaze creates a lovely crisp crust to the soft bread dough below. Of course you could use regular flour instead, I tried using spelt with my flatbread recipe and that worked just fine.

This would make the perfect starter, or you could pair this with a summery Mediterranean salad or simply as a ‘rip and dip’ bread teamed up with something like this.

Oh, and the pungent aroma from the oven of the freshly baked rosemary leaves was amazing, I was sad I had to go out since I could have stayed in the kitchen all with that lovely lingering Meditteranean smell!

Recipe: Simple mediterranean focaccia

Makes 3-4 rounds (depending on size)

Ingredients

1 small onion- sliced

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes- halved

Small handful of fresh rosemary leaves

Olive oil- for drizzling

Sea salt- for sprinkling on top

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200g gluten free self-raising flour mix (I used Doves Farm mix which contains rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat flours) or regular flour if non GF

1-2  tsp mixed dried herbs

150g soy yoghurt (or natural yoghurt if non vegan)

Up to 50ml water

½ tsp salt to taste

2 tbs nutritional yeast- optional

Method

Prepare the onion and tomatoes and set aside.

Mix the flour dried herbs and salt in a medium bowl then add the yoghurt and water and stir through, using your hands at the end as necessary. This should result in a lovely soft dough.

Divide the dough into 3-4 equal sized pieces and form circular patties with your hands approx. 1cm thick. Dust lightly with a little more flour if they are quite sticky to touch. Lay on the parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.

Press the onion sliced lightly into the dough and gently press the cherry tomatoes cut side up into the dough. Drizzle or brush the surface of the dough patties with olive oil and then sprinkle with the rosemary and the salt

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C for approx. 20 mins until the tops are slightly golden. Serve immediately.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.