PISSALADIÉRE

This is a simple dish from the south of France. It is always a good idea to freeze the leftover dough for future use.

Serves 8-10
2-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1-teaspoon salt
1-tablespoon fresh yeast, finely crumbled
1-teaspoon malt vinegar
1-3/4 cups lukewarm water
Olive oil for greasing

TOPPING
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 lbs onions (6-8), peeled and finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package of anchovies, drained
30 small black olives

1. To make the dough, sift the flour into the bowl of a food mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and add the salt, yeast and malt extract. Turn the machine onto a low speed and gradually pour in the water. Mix all the ingredients together until smooth. This will take about 5 minutes.
2. Stop the machine and remove the dough from the bowl. Place it on a lightly floured surface and knead, pulling and stretching it, for about 10 minutes. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with a clean, damp tea-towel and put it somewhere warm to proof for about 1_ hours. During this time the dough will double in size. Make sure you lightly grease bowl.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for a further 5 minutes. Cut off a third and roll it out to about _ inch thick, 10 inches wide and 12 inches long. Lay it onto a baking sheet lightly greased with olive oil and refrigerate until the topping is ready.
4. For the topping, heat the olive oil and butter in a large, lidded saucepan. Add the onions and garlic, bay leaf and thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper. Cover with the lid, turn the heat up high and cook for about 15 minutes. Lift the lid, give the onions a good stir and carry on cooking them for a further 10 minutes until they are golden in colour and all the liquid has evaporated. Turn the cooked onions out into a bowl to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 400F. Spread the onion mixture over the bread dough, leaving a 1-inch strip around the edges. Arrange the anchovy fillets in a criss-cross pattern over the onions and place the olives in the gaps between the anchovies. Drizzle with the remaining oil and cook the pissaladiere in the oven for about 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Contributed by John Burton-Race
www.thenewangel.co.uk

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