grape & rosemary focaccia
Late Summer into Early Autumn
At the back of the house, a grapevine grows over the terrace and forms a leafy passage towards the back door.
By late summer, bunches of grapes hang overhead, some still green, others beginning to deepen into purple. I walk beneath them many times a day, watching the change happen almost without noticing it.
And sometimes, in the afternoon, I reach up and pick a few for tea.
There is something I love about this point in the year. Summer hasn't disappeared, but there are small signs that another season is beginning. The light changes. The evenings arrive a little earlier. Food begins to become warmer and more substantial.
This is when I like to make grape and rosemary focaccia.
The grapes soften and darken in the oven, their sweetness meeting the rosemary and olive oil. I begin using a little more oil in my cooking again at this time of year, and the bread feels wonderfully grounding after the lighter foods of summer.
I often serve it with a simple soup, although it is equally good torn into pieces while it is still warm.
Grape & Rosemary Focaccia
Makes one round focaccia
Ingredients
500 g strong white bread flour
7 g fast-action dried yeast
1½ tsp fine sea salt
400 ml warm water, approximately
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the tin and finishing
A little buckwheat flour for kneading
150–200 g seedless red or purple grapes
2–3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Flaky sea salt
Method
Place the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl.
Gradually add the warm water and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, mixing until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms.
Scatter a little buckwheat flour over the work surface and knead the dough for around 8–10 minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic. Try not to add too much additional flour. The softness of the dough helps create the open texture of the focaccia.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave somewhere warm for around an hour, or until roughly doubled in size.
Generously oil a round baking tin or shallow baking dish. Transfer the risen dough to the tin and gently ease it towards the edges with your fingertips.
Cover again and leave to rise for another 20–30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan.
Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dough. Press your fingertips gently into the surface to make the characteristic focaccia dimples.
Nestle the grapes into the dough, allowing some to sit deeply in the hollows and others closer to the surface. Scatter over the rosemary leaves and a little flaky sea salt.
Bake for approximately 25–30 minutes, until deeply golden and risen.
Remove from the oven and drizzle with a little more olive oil while the focaccia is still warm.
Allow it to rest briefly before tearing or cutting into pieces.
A Seasonal Note
Grapes seem to hold the last abundance of summer.
For weeks they grow above the terrace, protected beneath their canopy of leaves. As summer begins to turn towards autumn, their colour deepens and their sweetness develops.
At the same time, my way of eating begins to change.
I start returning to warm soups, bread and a little more olive oil. There is still freshness on the table, but increasingly I find myself wanting food with substance and warmth.
This focaccia seems to belong exactly at that threshold.
From the Kitchen
One of my favourite things to do after eating this is to go for a walk in the cooler air.
There is something particularly invigorating about stepping outside after the warmth and substance of bread and olive oil. The focaccia feels grounding; the cooler air feels fresh and alive.
It is a small seasonal rhythm I have come to recognise.
A small practice
Before eating, take a moment to notice the bread before you cut it.
The warmth of it. The scent of rosemary and olive oil. The grapes that have softened and darkened in the oven.
Then take the first mouthful without doing anything else.
Sometimes attention begins with something as ordinary as lunch.
