Sun-dried tomato fougasse

This is a Gordon Ramsay's recipe for this classic Provencal rich flat bread, savoured with sun dried tomatoes and herbs. It does take a bit of effort to make the first couple of times, but once you are familiar with the process it's not actually very time consuming, besides the fact that the dough needs to rest 3 times.


Ingredients:
250g bread flour
3.5g fast-action dried yeast
150ml water
3/4 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the filling: (quantities to taste)
sun dried tomatoes
chopped chives and oregano

To make the 'sponge', mix 70g of flour with 3/4 tsp of yeast and 60ml of warm water. mix until smooth, and let rest covered in cling film for 1 1/2 hours (see picture).


Add another 90ml of warm water, the rest of the flour and yeast, salt, 1/2 tbsp olive oil and mix. Kneed the dough onto a floured surface for about 5 minutes, place into a bowl and cover with cling film. Let it rest for 30 mins.

Chop the sun dried tomatoes into strips, flatten the dough and position the tomatoes right in the middle, fold the 4 edges into the middle like a parcel, flatten again and rep[eat once more. Finally, flatten into your desired shape, brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with oregano or chives on top. Cover in cling and leave for another 30 mins (it will double in size).

Place in an over heated at 220°C, bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and brush again with extra olive oil before it cools.