Cheddar and Jalapeño Focaccia

1. Pour the warm water, yeast and honey into a jug and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes until the liquid looks foamy.  

2. Whisk the salt and flour together in your largest mixing bowl (you’ll want to leave room for the dough to rise). Pour the foamy yeast mixture and oil into the centre of the flour and use a spatula to combine everything together until no floury spots are visible. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and set aside to rise at room temperature until doubled in size, or in the fridge overnight for a more complex flavour.  

3. Preheat the oven to 240C. Grease the base and sides of a 20 x 30cm roasting dish with butter. When the dough has doubled in size and airy bubbles are visible on the top, use a spatula to scrape the dough into the centre of the greased dish. Use wet hands to lift the dough to all four corners of the baking dish. Allow the dough to rise again at room temperature for 45 minutes – 1 hour.  

4. Once the dough has risen again, use wet fingers to poke holes all over the surface of the focaccia dough. Drizzle with a generous glug of olive oil, scatter over a pinch of flaky salt and grate over ½ the cheddar. Arrange the jalapenos over the surface so that they’re evenly spread out and sprinkle over the chilli flakes. Slide the focaccia dough into the centre of the oven and bake for 30 minutes until a deep golden, bubbly crust has formed on top. 

5. Remove the focaccia from the oven and immediately grate over the remaining cheddar. Drizzle with another glug of olive oil and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before using two spatulas to loosen and lift the focaccia onto a cooling rack. The focaccia is best sliced and served the same day, but once cool, can be wrapping in baking parchment and a zip lock bag and frozen for up to 6 months.

If you’re cooking for any little ones, or people who don’t like spice, leave the jalapeños and chilli flakes off ½ the bread.