Sultry summer evenings sitting opposite the church of San Francesco, a beautiful red brick and lime-washed building with cloisters of dazzling white stucco surrounding a sheltered rose garden humming with bees. When in Lucca, this is the place we are drawn to again and again for aperitivo. As the sun starts to dip behind the hills, locals flock to a restaurant opposite the monastery to enjoy a cool spritz and to sample the food sent out by the kitchen to encourage one to linger perhaps finally deciding to dine there or to leave already sated by the constant flow of tiny squares of hot pizza, boards of charcuterie, a beautiful array of cheese, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, bruschetta and freshly baked focaccia jewelled with local black olives, rosemary and flakes of sea salt. 

Ingredients

350ml lukewarm water
7g dried fast action yeast
500g strong bread flour
2 tsp fine sea salt
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
A few small sprigs fresh rosemary
Black olives, I finished off a jar of Kalamata olives here
Flaky sea salt

How I make it

In a jug, mix together the yeast and lukewarm water. Set aside for around 10 minutes until it’s bubbly.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre and add 2 tbsp of the olive oil and the yeasted water. Mix together until you have a slightly sticky dough. Coat the top of the dough with a thin layer of olive oil, cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm place for two hours.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out into a well-oiled tray or oven proof pan. Stretch it to the edges, cover with the tea towel and set aside for another 30 minutes.

Heat an oven to 220C.

When dough is ready, coat your hands in olive oil and gently dimple the top to create small indentations with your fingers. Push the sprigs of rosemary and olives into it and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for around 20 minutes until golden on top. 

Allow it to cool slightly before turning out onto a serving board.

Wrapped in clingfilm, this keeps really well in the fridge. Just be sure to warm it up for 10 minutes in a low oven before serving.

For an alternative flavour, replace the rosemary and olives with thinly sliced lemon and fennel seeds.