Mediterre - Pure Organic Goodness | Olive oil, sea salt, fresh bread

Just like the Mediterranean lifestyle in general, Mediterranean cuisine is simple yet incredibly sophisticated. It is packed full of joy and just as diverse as the array of premium produce on offer. It’s known around the world for its magnificent ability to strip cooking back to the fruits, resources and produce it has on its doorstep. This passionate, playful approach to cooking and resulting array of exquisite dishes inspires professional and amateur cooks across the globe.
It brings together contrasting elements to form a whole. Good yet simple products transform into complex flavours and aromas. Sometimes, all you need is three ingredients to create an incredible taste experience unlike any other.

When you consciously decide to put less on the plate, the quality of the chosen ingredients becomes even more essential.
The famous example of this approach is a dish that is a treat for the taste buds at any time, whether as an aperitif or snack, a delicious lunch or accompaniment to some red wine of an evening with friends, and which is served everywhere

A pleasure shared is a pleasure prolonged.
Cold-pressed olive oil is poured into a deep dish, sprinkled with a pinch of sea salt and placed in the middle of the table for guests. Good, fresh bread, like a loaf of ciabatta, is shared among friends. Everyone takes a piece, dipping it into the simple blend of olive oil and salt. Savouring the morsel in their mouths, they soak up the incredible flavours. It feels almost magical that a dish so simple and authentic, together with the special way of enjoying it, with friends, could conjure up such extraordinary pleasure.

The magic lies in the fact that you can taste the individual flavours of bread, sea salt and olive oil, while still experiencing their complexity. It’s a taste that’s impossible to put into words, though why would you want to anyway…
Simply close your eyes and let it take over. Savour every bite and you will remember it forever. Pleasure at its purest.

Ciabatta recipe

You don’t need much to make the perfect ciabatta – just a few great ingredients: flour, water, a little bit of yeast, cold-pressed olive oil and sea salt. Plus a bit of time and the right technique. This recipe creates a superb ciabatta: crisp on the outside, light on the inside.

INGREDIENTS – for 2 ciabatta loaves:

• 400 g flour
• 4 g yeast
• 8 g sea salt
• 300 ml lukewarm water
• 6–8 tablespoons of good-quality olive oil

METHOD:

Step 1

Mix the water and yeast together in a small bowl (a pinch of sugar helps activate the yeast).
Brush the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Mix the flour and salt. In a mixer with the dough hook attached, mix the water/yeast mixture into the flour and knead well until you have a silky-smooth dough.
Ideally, leave the dough to rest overnight. It will continue to rise and create small air pockets – the perfect conditions for the next steps.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan) or 225°C (standard oven).

Step 3

Place the dough on to your worktop, spread it out gently then arrange into rough folds. Leave it to rest for a good 10 minutes.
Split the dough in half to create two equal-sized pieces.
Press the dough flat and spread it out to create a rectangle shape.
Fold the dough up to around 2/3 of the length of the loaf. Do the same from the other side, making sure the end overlaps with the first fold in the middle.

Step 4

Place the ciabatta loaves on to a baking tray covered in baking paper. For a more rustic look, bake folded side up. If you would prefer a smoother look, bake folded side down. Brush all over with a small amount of olive oil and leave to rest for another 15 minutes or so. Pepper, a little sea salt or dried herbs should now stick perfectly to the loaves, so sprinkle on the topping of your choice before baking.

Step 5

Bake the loaves for around 15 to 20 minutes until the crust turns golden brown.
Leave to cool slightly and then enjoy!

We hope you enjoy making this recipe and trying our products.