I fancied good old carbonara tonight and there’s only one thing you should have with that. Focaccia. Now mine aren’t just any old focaccia loaves. Oh no. These baby’s are perfectly sized with sea salt and rosemary, tomato and pesto and goats cheese and balsamic vinegar drizzled on top. Try and get a hold of semolina flour(you can find it in most supermarkets) cause this is what will give you the beautiful holey structure, a signature of a good focaccia.

Ingredients

• 400g strong white bread flour
• 100g semolina flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1 sachet dried yeast
• ½ tbsp caster sugar
• 350ml lukewarm water
• olive oil to grease the bowl

For the toppings

• 50g crumbled goats cheese
• salt and pepper
• balsamic vinegar
• a couple of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1tbsp pesto
• 1tbsp olive oil
• sprigs of rosemary

Measure out your water, yeast and sugar into a jug and give it a mix. We want this to be frothy before we start with the kneading. Weigh your flours onto a surface (or into a mixer with a dough hook attachment) and make a well in the middle. If making by hand, gradually add your yeast mix to the well, mixing with your hand and making sure you don’t lose any. When you’ve added all the water, knead the mix for about 5-10 minutes until you have a smooth dough. If using a mixer, mix on a slow speed for about 7 minutes. Once you have a dough you’re happy with transfer it into a large greased bowl and cover the whole thing with cling film. Most recipes suggest a wet tea towel but I find the cling film keeps in all of the moisture and doesn’t dry the dough out when it is no longer wet. Put the bowl in a warm place (in the airing cupboard, by the fire or by a radiator) and leave for about 30 minutes until doubled in size. When it’s ready, carefully tip out of the bowl being very careful NOT to knock out any of the air. Portion the dough into enough rounds for your tin (i used a muffin tin) and shape them with your hands ready to pop in the moulds. When they’re in, push down each round with your finger, making little wells for your toppings. Give all of them a sprinkle of salt and pepper then get to work on your toppings. Push sprigs of rosemary into some rolls. Sprinkle crumbled goats cheese over others and place tomato halves on a couple more. Don’t put your vinegar or pesto on these yet, they burn easily. Preheat your oven to 220C for a fan oven and 230C for a gas. When your oven is heating, prove your bread for a second time, so cover with cling film lightly, not as tight as before and leave until slightly larger in size. When the temperature is right, pop your buns in the oven for about 10-12 minutes, until the tops and bottoms are golden brown. When they’re ready take them out of the moulds, drizzle balsamic vinegar oven your goats cheese buns and your pesto(mixed with the olive oil) spooned over the tomato buns, and violà!