Step 1

Tip the flour into a Size 12 or S18 Mason Cash Mixing Bowl, then add and mix in the salt and yeast. Add the water and oil and mix together with a spoon before briefly folding the mixture together with wet hands (this mixture is wet and sticky, so wet hands will help keep the mixture in the bowl rather than on you).

Step 2

Cover the bowl and dough with cling film and let it rest for about 45 minutes in a warm place.

Step 3

Once risen, drizzle your hands in oil and rub them all over before cupping them around the dough and lifting it from the edges of the bowl. Fold the dough over itself, pressing the edges down into the middle. It will still be quite gooey and should momentarily hold its shape before slumping back into the bowl. Repeat this, turning the bowl about 90 degrees each time until you feel that the dough can support itself.

Step 4

Cover the bowl and dough again with the cling film for about an hour until it has doubled in size.

Step 5

Drizzle a baking tray or dish with more olive oil (we lined a Mason Cash Linear Rectangular Dish with baking paper here, but any baking tray or dish will do) and spread it around the dish with your hands before turning the dough out into it. It will still slump and flatten, but fold it in half a few times and it will start to keep its shape.

Step 6

You now need to flatten it out as much as you possibly can, filling the tray to the edges as best you can. Leave it to prove for another 45 minutes, preheating the oven to 220C about 20 minutes into the prove. Finally, coat your fingertips in oil and press them firmly into the dough to make lots of holes. Drizzle with more oil, then sprinkle with salt and the herbs before baking for 20 to 25 minutes until it is golden. You’ll know when it’s ready by tapping it underneath. If it sounds hollow, it’s done.