Fuddus.com Recipes

Preparation

1. Having sliced the onions, place them in a bowl of warm water and leave to sit while you prepare the dough. This will take the sharpness out of the onions and give a more smooth flavour.
2. Crumble the fresh yeast into a bowl and add the milk, a little of the warm water and the sugar. Stir well until the yeast is dissolved and leave it aside for about 15 minutes so that it starts to activate.
3. Sieve the flour and salt onto a clean work surface and use your fingers to mix the potato well through it. Make a mound with the flour and make a well in the centre. Add the Olive Oil and the yeast mixture and slowly use your fingers in a swirling motion to draw in flour from the walls. Keep drawing it in and mixing it.
4. Little by little the mixture will start to become thick. Keep drawing in flour from the sides and add some of the warm water a little at a time (* See Notes below). Bring the whole mixture together and add a little more water as required.
5. You will get to the point where you have a ball of dough. It may seem quite dry but don’t add too much water. Knead the dough as much as you can and you will find that it starts to become more elastic and possibly a bit wet. If it starts to stick to the surface, add more flour and continue to knead.

6. You will need to continue kneading the dough until it becomes nice and elastic and smooth. Then fold it inwards with your fingers until you have a nice smooth ball. Close the bottom by pinching it along the seam.
7. Place the dough on an oiled baking tray and cover it with a damp cloth. Leave it in a warm place (with no draught) to rise for about an hour, or until it doubles in size.
8. Once it has doubled in size, knock back the dough and roll it out to a thickness of about 1cm. You will need a fairly good-sized baking tray to fit the dough (one with sides!).
9. Flour the tray and spread the dough out to the edges as best you can. Cover with a damp cloth and again leave it to rise in a warm place for about 30-60 minutes.
10. Remove the cloth and using the tips of your fingers, make holes in the dough all the way from one end to the other.
11. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for a further 30-60 minutes.
12. Once the dough has risen again, mix the Olive Oil, Water and Salt in a bottle and shake well. Pour immediately over the dough, covering as evenly as possible.
13. Sprinkle generously with coarse Sea Salt and then sprinkle over the rosemary.
14. Drain the sliced onions and sprinkle evenly over the dough.
15. Bake at 200C (Fan Oven) for about 25 minutes until the bread is golden brown on top and the onions are starting to crisp.
16. Remove from the oven and move to a large bread-board or chopping board to cool. Serve warm or cooled. The bread should rise to about 3cm or more when it’s cooked.