Tomato Focaccia

We’ve added a burst of juicy tomatoes to this traditional Italian bread for extra goodness and flavour. And it’s naturally vegan, too.

Hands-on time 30min, plus proving. Cooking time about 35min. Serves 8

7g sachet fast-action yeast

1tsp caster sugar

500g strong white bread flour

100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to oil and drizzle

3tbsp tomato purée

100g Sunblush tomatoes, chopped

5 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked

200g cherry tomatoes on the vine Sea salt flakes, to garnish

1 In a jug, mix together 300ml lukewarm water with the yeast and sugar. Set aside for a few min until the mixture starts to foam. In a large bowl, mix the flour with 1tsp salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture, followed by 75ml olive oil. Stir quickly with a knife, then combine into a soft dough.

2 Turn out on to a clean surface and knead for around 10min, until smooth and elastic. Put in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for at least 1hr or until doubled in size.

3 Once risen, tip the dough out on to a clean surface and knock back gently for 5sec, to redistribute the air. Roll out the dough to a rectangle, roughly 51 x 25.5cm. Mix together the tomato purée, the remaining olive oil, Sunblush tomatoes and ½ the rosemary leaves. Spread mixture over one ½ of the bread, leaving a 1cm border around the edge, and sprinkle with a little salt. Fold the other ½ of the bread over the filling and press at the edges to seal. Put the bread in a roasting tin, approx 30.5 x 20.5cm. Gently press down the dough with your hands until it’s almost at the edges of the tin — it will get bigger as it proves. Cover with lightly oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place to prove for another hr. It is ready when a finger lightly pressed into the dough leaves a dent.

4 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7. Drizzle 2tbsp oil over the dough and gently rub in. Cut tomato vines into short lengths and press lightly into the dough. Make a few more dents with your fingertips and press the remaining rosemary leaves into the dough between the tomatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and leave to prove, covered with clingfilm, for another 20min. Bake for 15min, then turn oven down to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6 and bake for 15-20min, until risen and golden. Cool slightly in the tin and serve warm.

PER SERVING 328cals, 8g protein, 10g fat (2g saturates), 50g carbs (3g total sugars), 3g fibre