With its caramel coloured crumb and an open bubbly texture, this malted focaccia is relatively easy to make by hand but super-easy with a machine. Here I mixed this in the Ankarsrum Assistent with the dough hook attachment and scraper, but you can mix it by hand in a Swedish stainless steel mixing bowl. The flour used, Mulino Marino's excellent Organic Type "0" Manitoba Flour gives an extra-crisp crust and a beautiful flavour.

If you’re making the dough by hand use relatively warm water (22C), but if you’re making the dough in a machine use much colder water (around 10-12C) as the action of the dough hook and the relatively long mixing will warm the dough quickly.

Make one large thick sheet of focaccia, or two thinner ones.

Method

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Then add this to the mixing bowl along with the flour, 250g cold water (saving the remaining 30g for later), sourdough starter, malt flour and olive oil.

Mix on the lowest speed for 3–4 minutes until almost combined, then increase the speed to medium and mix for about 10 minutes, until the dough is quite smooth and elastic (stop the machine and scrape the dough down from the top of the dough hook if it twists up).

Next, add the salt, followed by the reserved water in 2–3 additions, mixing until the dough is very smooth and elastic (almost like chewing gum). I found that removing the dough scraper from the Ankarsrum at this point made it much easier to achieve this consistency, taking around 5 minutes of additional mixing.

Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and place it in a lightly oiled container to rise. With the Ankarsrum, remove the dough hook and scraper first, this makes it much easier to lift the dough and bowl out. Cover and leave to rise for 90 minutes.

Give the dough a stretch and fold on an oiled surface (I use an oiled tray, with a damp cloth folded underneath on the work surface to stop it wobbling), then return the dough to the container. Leave to rise for a further 70–90 minutes, until almost doubled in volume.

Line a baking tray with non-stick paper, ensuring it covers the surface edge-to-edge. Lightly oil the paper and add a few dabs of oil underneath to stop it moving. Stretch and fold the dough once more, as before, then place it in the centre of the tray. Cover and leave to rest for 20–60 minutes.

Lightly oil the top of the dough, then dimple and stretch it outward until it almost reaches the edges of the tray.

Heat the oven to 220°C fan. Leave the dough to rise for a further 30 minutes, then sprinkle with sea salt flakes and bake for about 30 minutes, until well risen and a rich brown colour on top.

Remove from the oven, drizzle with a little more olive oil while still hot, then leave to cool.