This week’s recipe is brought to us by Australian Pears and it’s a beauty. A great combination of salty and sweet, pears are the perfect complement to the recipe’s melted brie and honey balsamic vinegar. Beurre Bosc or Packham pears will work best and ideally, the pears should be slightly firm.
Serves 4 | Prep time: 20 minutes (plus 1.5 hours proofing time) | Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 200ml water
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 320g plain flour
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
Toppings
- 1-2 pears, sliced into 3mm thick slices with mandolin
- 65g brie, cut into thin slices
- 1⁄4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- Olive oil for drizzling
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1⁄2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Salt
- Pepper
Method
- Prepare the dough by first mixing together water, yeast and sugar in a stand mixer bowl and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour, olive oil and salt and knead with the dough hook attachment for 5 minutes. Shape into a ball and put in a lightly greased bowl and cover with cling film. Proof the dough for an hour or till doubled in size
- When the dough has finished proofing, lightly grease a baking tray with olive oil and press the dough out on the baking tray to a rectangular shape, approximately 0.5-1cm thickness. Cover loosely with a tea towel and set aside to proof for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- When ready to bake, place the pear slices, brie and walnuts all over the dough. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or till the edges of the dough start to become golden.
- As the focaccia is baking, mix the honey and balsamic vinegar together.
- Lightly season the focaccia with salt and pepper before drizzling the honey and balsamic vinegar over the top. Serve it warm.
