Name: Gino D'Acampo's stuffed focaccia bread recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: Serves: 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 450g strong plain white flour; 300ml warm water; 2tsp dried yeast; 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing; 250g frozen spinach, defrosted; 250g mozzarella, cubed; 4tbsp Kalamata pitted olives, chopped; 2tsp of fresh thyme leaves; Sea salt for sprinkling; Salt and pepper to taste

By Gino D’Acampo

published 27 August 2007

Nothing beats the satisfaction of making - and eating! - your own bread. Stuffed with spinach, olives and mozzarella, this is a delicious twist on an Italian classic.

Ingredients

450g strong plain white flour
300ml warm water
2tsp dried yeast
4tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
250g frozen spinach, defrosted
250g mozzarella, cubed
4tbsp Kalamata pitted olives, chopped
2tsp of fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt for sprinkling
Salt and pepper to taste

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Method

Sift the flour into a large bowl and stir in the yeast. Make a well in the centre, pour in the oil and water and with the help of a wooden spoon, mix all together.
Transfer the mixture onto a floured surface and knead for 10 mins until you create a smooth and elastic dough.
Place the bread dough into a greased bowl, cover with a kitchen cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1½ hrs until nearly doubled in size.
In the meantime, squeeze the spinach to remove any excess water and place into a large bowl. Add in the mozzarella, olives and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Brush a 25cm loose-bottom cake tin with oil.
Briefly knead the dough once more and divide into two pieces. Roll out the first piece a little larger than the tin. Once ready, place on the bottom of the tin and try to mould the side higher than the base.
Spread the spinach mixture over the base, leaving 1cm from the edges.
Roll out the remaining dough to the same size of the tin, brush the edges with a little water and place over the filling. Ensure that you press the edges together well to seal.
Using your fingers press all over the surface and then brush with the extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with the sea salt and bake in the middle of a preheated oven at 220º for 20-30 mins until risen and firm.
Once ready, leave the bread to rest into the tin for 10 minutes then place on a wire rack to slightly cool. Enjoy the focaccia bread while still warm and fragrant.

Gino D’Acampo is a much-loved, cheeky TV chef who often appears on ITV’s popular daytime chat show This Morning. Born into a large family in Napoli, Italy, Gino’s been working in kitchens since he was young and fell in love with the industry age 11 when he walked into his grandfather’s restaurant. Gino’s Italian heritage has a huge influence on his recipes. From a classic margherita pizza to a four-cheese macaroni cheese with peas, we’re sure to have a Gino D’Acampo recipe your whole family will love! With three children of his own it is perhaps no surprise that so many of Gino’s recipes are perfect for the hustle and bustle of a busy home. As well as regularly appearing on This Morning to share his culinary skills and the odd cheeky joke or two, Gino has also had several TV shows of his own including most recently Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape which aired in November 2018 on ITV. He also won over much of the nation back in 2009 when he was crowned winner of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Gino has several best-selling cookbooks out including Gino’s Pasta, Home Baking and Gino’s Italian Escape. At the heart of all of his recipes is the belief that good ingredients can speak for themselves. On his website Gino explains: ‘My grandfather said that a good recipe doesn’t need lots and lots of ingredients because if the ingredients are top quality and full of flavour, why would you want to cover up or change their taste