For Ellie Bouhadana, there’s no separating food and family. The Ellie’s Table cookbook author and former Hope St Radio chef’s signature recipes are drawn from a rich family history of North African and Eastern European Jewish heritage, with a deep love of cooking passed down the generations.
“Family is my biggest influence with my food,” she says. “I’ve grown up seeing the older generations bring food together on a table, and my mum, that was her way of nurturing us. She learned from her mum, and so I would watch them together, putting their hands through big piles of matzo ball dough or challah dough. Everything was made from scratch.”
When Bouhadana talks about food, she speaks of huge meals shared with extended family, grandparents approximating cherished family recipes with new ingredients, or getting the chance to cook and care for others herself. It’s these closely held memories and experiences that make dishes like her focaccia so much more than just sustenance for the day. “The focaccia just became something I love doing because of that whole idea of dough, of working with my hands – that’s how I watched my grandmother put love into things,” she says.
Working with your hands is, for Bouhadana, an essential part of making her focaccia – even when she’s laying out 10 trays of it at a restaurant or event. There’s a connection with her own history, of course, but the tactile element is also vital for getting the dough just right. “I want myself and my chefs and all the readers and people who make the dish to feel it, because you feel the difference from when it starts and how thick it is to when you mix halfway and how the gluten is relaxing,” Bouhadana says.
If you’re making it yourself, it’s all easy enough, but the important tips focus on the baking tray: grab a stainless steel pan, and don’t skimp on the oil. “Really butter your tin – butter really heavily and pour a lot of oil,” she says. “People freak out about how much oil to pour into the pan, but lots of butter and oil stops it from sticking and lets it get crispy and adds flavour to the bottom. And get a stainless tin that you would have in a restaurant. Don't use a glass or ceramic tray – go out of your way to buy one from a chef shop.”
As for serving, Bouhadana says this recipe is a foolproof accompaniment for Moroccan dips, bottarga-flavoured butter or just about anything, so it’s good to have on the table at those rowdy get-togethers, or any occasion that includes a shared meal.
“Having bread at a meal is so fun and important to have something to soak,” she says. “A lot of my dishes have lots of sauce, good olive oil, lots of garlic and acid, so having bread to soak it up, for me, is everything.”
Ellie Bouhadana’s focaccia
Makes two full-size gastronorm pans or 4 half-size pans
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 18-24 hours rest time and 3-4 hours proving
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
60g sugar
42g active dry yeast
3L lukewarm water
3.75kg plain (all-purpose) flour
170g fine sea salt
300ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling
Butter for greasing
Flaky salt
Method:
To make the dough, pour the yeast and sugar into an airtight container. The dough will double in size, so use a large container.
Slowly pour in the lukewarm water, and as you do, whisk energetically to mix the sugar and yeast into the water. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate. If the mixture doesn’t start bubbling, the yeast might be out of date or the water is too hot. If this is the case, start again with a fresh packet of yeast.
When the yeast mixture is frothy, add the flour and then the salt into the container (be careful that the salt doesn’t have too much direct contact with the yeast, otherwise it could kill the yeast). Mix everything thoroughly with your hands until the dough is smooth with no lumps and feels elastic – this will take a few minutes.
Next, pull a section of the dough away from the edge of the container to make a small well and pour in a quarter of the oil. Repeat this step three more times at equal distances around the edge of the dough until you have used all of the oil.
Fold the oil into the dough. Picture the dough as a clock face. Starting at 12 o’clock, fold the outer edge of the dough into the centre of the container with your hands, then do the same at 3 o’clock, then 6 o’clock and finally 9 o’clock, folding the dough into the centre each time. Repeat this folding technique twice more, then turn the dough seam-side-down in the container. Seal with a tight-fitting lid and place in the fridge to rest for 18–24 hours.
To bake the dough, butter 4 stainless steel tins very well. Pour in ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil – it might feel like too much, but it won’t be. Tip the tin so that the oil coats the sides as well as the bottom of the tin.
Take the dough out of the fridge. Starting at 12 o’clock, fold the dough into the centre, and then do the same at 6 o’clock. Next fold the dough into the centre at 3 o’clock, and then at 9 o’clock. Repeat this once more, then take the dough out of the container and put it into the tin seam-side-down. Gently stretch the dough out a little, but don’t stretch it all the way to the edges – as it proves the dough will expand to fill the tin.
Find the warmest spot in your house and leave the dough to rise for 3 to 4 hours (no longer than 4 hours), or until it has doubled in size. If your house isn’t warm, turn the heating on or the dough won’t rise.
Preheat the oven to 220°C, fan-forced.
Pour a drop of oil onto your hands and rub them together. Drizzle about 1 tbsp of oil over the focaccia, then very gently rub the oil over the top, dimpling the surface by letting the tips of your fingers sink to the bottom of the tin. Small air bubbles should appear across the surface. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp of flaky salt and give the focaccia one last drizzle with about 1 tbsp of olive oil.
Put in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, then increase the heat to 245°C and bake for a further 10 minutes, until the bottom is crispy and the top is darker than gold.
Take the focaccia out of the oven. If the bottom is still a little soft, you can take the focaccia out of its tin and put it back into the oven for 5-10 minutes at 220°C to crisp up on the bottom – just make sure to place the empty tin under the focaccia to catch the oil drippings.
Let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out and transfer to a cooling rack. Slice once the focaccia has cooled slightly (around 20 minutes).
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Cartier. Ellie Bouhadana wears Cartier Love and Juste un Clou. Shop the collection online or at your nearest Cartier boutique.
