250g strong bread flour5g of fresh yeast (or 3g of dried yeast)5g of salt175g water1 clove of garlic, finely chopped1 tbsp of onions, finely chopped1 tbsp of good extra virgin olive oil40g of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and roughly chopped1/2 tsp of rosemary, very finely chopped
Start by gently frying the onions in the olive oil on a low heat. Once these start to turn golden add your garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down to room temperature.
Place your flour in a bowl, if you are using fresh yeast you need to rub it in the flour by using your fingertips as if making a crumble. If you are using dried yeast simply stir it into your flour. Add the salt and water.
Combine all the ingredients with the help of a plastic scraper, a wooden spoon will do just as well. Once it starts to come together tip the bowl over onto the worktop, scraping all the bits of flour off your bowl, and knead the dough (without adding any more flour). The dough will become smooth, soft, supple and elastic and it shouldn’t feel sticky.
Now add the onion/garlic mixture, the sun dried tomatoes and the rosemary to your dough and carry on kneading so all your ingredients get well distributed.
Now you can lightly flour your work surface. Shape your dough into a ball and place it back in your lightly floured bowl.
Cover the bowl with a plastic bag, cling-film or tea towel and allow it to rest for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm, draft-free place, until is almost double its initial size.
Lightly flour your work surface. Tip your dough onto your work surface and reshape into a ball again. Now flour a tea towel well and line your bowl or basket with it. Place the ball (seam side up) in the centre of the towel and cover with another towel. Now start heating your oven (and oven stone if you have one) to 250C. Leave the dough to prove for 1 hour 15 mins, or until the loaf is nearly double in volume.
Once double in volume turn the loaf over and place it on a peel or flat-edged baking tray, dusted with flour, seam-side down, and make a cut on the top of the loaf with a razor blade (or very sharp knife), to the depth of about 5mm.
Mist the inside of your oven with a water spray. Quickly slide the loaf onto the baking stone or tray, reduce the heat to 220C and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until well coloured.
When it’s done the loaf should look dark golden and sound hollow if tapped on the base with your knuckles. Remove from the oven and cool on wire rack.
Preparation: 45 minutes
Resting: 1 1/2 hours
Proving: 1 ¼ hours
Baking: 30 minutes