Italian-style tomato & olive sticks
Alex Hollywood
MAKES 3-4 400g strong white flour , plus extra for dusting 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast olive oil , for drizzling handful of stoned olives handful of cherry tomatoes , halved 1 tbsp pesto mixed with 2 tbsp olive oil
1 Tip the flour , sugar and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl . Combine the yeast with 350ml warm ( not hot ) water and slowly pour into the flour mix , bringing the wet dough together gently with your hands or a spatula . Cover and place in a warm , draught-free area until the dough doubles in size ( around 2 hrs ). 2 Tip the dough onto a floured surface – it will be wet and gooey , so gently fold it into itself 5-6 times to make a wobbly rectangle shape . Place back in the mixing bowl , drizzle with some olive oil and a little sea salt , cover with a floured tea towel and leave to rise again in a warm place for at least 2 hrs , until doubled in size . 3 Line two non-stick baking trays with silicone paper . Press the dough with your fingers to see if it leaves an indent – if it does , it ’ s ready . Tip out onto a floured surface , cut the dough into quarters or thirds ( depending on how chunky you want your sticks to be ) and gently stretch each one out to a stick shape the length of the tray , leaving room between the sticks . 4 Heat the oven to 230C / 210C fan / gas 8 . Brush each stick with olive oil , sprinkle with sea salt , add a final dusting of flour , then press the olives and tomato halves into the dough . Allow to rise for another 10-15 mins , then drizzle with a little pesto and bake for 15-20 mins depending on the thickness of the sticks . Leave to cool .
AS SEEN ON THE
Italian Kitchen
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