River Cottage Bread- Focaccia

I have three school lunches to pack every weekday so it is not surprising that I use quite a bit of bread. I do buy bread but I truly love the aroma and taste of homemade bread. It is particularly good still warm from the oven and in fact very hard to resist. Last year I purchased the River Cottage Bread cookbook. I am a fan of the River Cottage programs and one day when I make it to the UK, I would love to have a visit there. Until then though, I am satisfied with DVDs and books. The bread book is in the handbook series and is a good size with plenty of how-to information as well as recipes. I have made a few different things from the book and I am intending on making them all.

To accompany a minestrone soup I made last week, I made the focaccia. As I am trying to follow the recipes correctly that is I am not cooking in my usual way of tweaking the recipe, I used salt on top of the bread. This was the only thing I didn't like about the bread. I don't eat salt so it was over-powering for me but not the others at Sunny Corner Farm. I can vouch that this recipe turns out a treat and as with most bread and baking in general, is greater than the sum of its parts. A crust with crunch and a light bready centre and the rosemary on top...delicious.

Tracy