In honour of National Bread Week I am posting Za’atar & Olive Focaccia which I have been meaning to make ever since I saw Paul Hollywood making some on the Alan Tichmarsh show a couple of years ago!

I was recently sent a box of goodies from Steenbergs one of which was za’atar (which is popular in Syria and Lebanon). I had never come across this before (or some of the other products) so mild panic did set in as I felt like I’d opened up a box of sheet music and been asked to play a medley when I’m note blind!

Anyway after a quick look at Wikipedia, a trip to the library and a snoop in a book shop I decided to make the first thing that had already come into my head which was Focaccia. Indeed Paul Hollywood’s latest book had some kind of flat bread covered in za’atar so I felt I was barking up the right tree!

My daughter loves olives so we decided that these should also be included and I based my recipe on the one featured here for National Bread Week. I have to say that we had this with my Glenda’s Winter Lentil Soup and we ate the whole loaf between the 4 us. It was a big hit so I will be making this Za’atar & Olive Focaccia again!

My daughter has now become a za’atar fan and comes in from school asking for some pitta, houmous (or olive oil) and za’atar. The Steenbergs version contains thyme, oregano, marjoram and parsley together with sumac, toasted sesame seeds and salt.

I used my small Mermaid baking sheet which was just the right size for making Focaccia and because it’s made of hard anodised aluminium there is no bending or warping in the oven which you get with cheaper quality baking sheets. The heat distribution is also second to none!

I am entering my Za’atar & Olive Focaccia into Javelin Warriors Cookin w Luv “Made with Love Mondays” challenge as it is made from scratch, plus Karen’s Herbs on Saturday challenge as it uses Za’atar.

Here’s a pictorial step-by-step guide:

More flavoured bread recipes

I’m sure you’ll love my Za’atar & Olive Focaccia so be sure to tag me via @FabFood4All on social media and leave a comment below! It means the world to me:-)

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NB: All opinions are my own and I was not paid for this post. Thank you to Steenbergs for my products and Mermaid for the baking tray.