Pissaladiere Nicoise

Ingredients

• 300 g strong white bread flour
• 5 g instant dried yeast
• 180 ml warm water
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the tray
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1.5 kg onions, thinly sliced
• 4 tbsp olive oil for the onions
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 16 anchovy fillets in oil
• 24 small black Nicoise olives
• Black pepper

Before you cook

• Peel and slice the onions as thinly as you can
• Drain the anchovy fillets and pat them dry on kitchen paper
• Oil a 30 by 25 centimetre baking tray

Steps

1. Mix the flour, the yeast and the salt in a bowl, then pour in the warm water and the 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Knead for eight minutes, until you have a smooth, springy dough.
3. Cover the bowl and leave the dough somewhere warm for one hour, until doubled.
4. Warm the 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan over low heat and add the onions with the thyme, the bay and a good pinch of salt.
5. Cook the onions for 50 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until they collapse into a pale golden jam with no liquid left.
6. Fish out the thyme stalks and the bay leaf, grind in black pepper, and leave the onions to cool.
7. Stretch the risen dough into the oiled tray with your fingertips, pushing it right into the corners.
8. Spread the cooled onions over the dough in an even layer, leaving a thin border bare.
9. Lay the anchovy fillets on top in a diamond lattice.
10. Set an olive in the centre of each diamond.
11. Bake at 220C for 20 to 25 minutes, until the base is crisp underneath and the border is deep gold.
12. Slide the pissaladiere onto a board, let it settle for 10 minutes and cut it into squares to eat warm or at room temperature.