CHERRY FOCACCIA

I have made this very festive bread at the market before, it is so delicious and fun to make. I have sprinkled it with rose petal sugar (rose petals available from Kutash Organics), which adds a wonderful, subtle flavour to the bread and enhances the cherries.
Serves 10

1 kg cherries, stoned
1 tsp dried yeast
350 ml plain flour
Extra virgin olive oil
100g caster sugar blend with 2 Tbsp sugar
Sea salt

Method
In a bowl mix the yeast with the warm water, let it ferment for 5 minutes or until it goes frothy. Gently pour in and combine the flour; the dough should be very soft. Pour in 50ml olive oil along with half the sugar and pinch of salt. Knead on a floured work surface for about 5 minutes. Return to the bowl, cover with a cloth, and set aside to rise for an hour – this stage can be made the day ahead and stored in the fridge until needed. Just ensure you remove in plenty of time for it to get to room temperature.

Remove the stones from the cherries, and put the flesh in a bowl.

When the dough has risen, roll it out and place on a lightly oiled pizza pan or baking tray (about 30cm). Place the cherries over the dough and let it rise again for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C

Sprinkle the remaining rose sugar over the top of the cherries and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil. Place the bread in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until brown.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

NB – To make rose petal sugar it is paramount that the rose petals are dried, spray-free and preferably organic. I about 2 Tbsp to a food processor along with 100g icing or caster sugar and blend until fragrant and pinkish in colour. Store in an airtight jar.