Pissaladière

Combine the flour, yeast and fine sea salt in a large bowl. Add the warm water and 30 ml olive oil, mix to a shaggy dough, then turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth.

Leave the dough to prove at room temperature for 1–1.5 hours until doubled in size.

While the dough proves, warm 4 tbsp olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over medium-low heat. Add all the sliced onions and stir to coat, then reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring every 10 minutes, for 60–70 minutes until the onions are deeply golden, jammy, and reduced to roughly a quarter of their original volume — they should smell sweet and nutty, not sharp.

Add the minced garlic, thyme leaves, chopped rosemary, and caster sugar to the onions. Stir well and cook for a further 10 minutes until fragrant and any residual moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat, stir in the chopped capers, season with pepper, and allow to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 230°C, or 210°C for a fan oven, or gas mark 8 and place a large baking tray or pizza stone inside to heat up.

Punch down the proved dough and stretch or roll it on a sheet of baking parchment into a rough rectangle approximately 30 cm × 40 cm, about 5 mm thick. Allow the shaped dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Spread the cooled onion mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 1.5 cm border. Press the olive halves into the onions in a diagonal diamond pattern across the surface.

Slide the pissaladière (still on the parchment) onto the hot tray or stone. Bake for 20–25 minutes until the crust is deep golden at the edges and the base sounds hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and scatter over flaky sea salt. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares or wedges.