Brush the base of a 40 x 60 cm / 16x 24 inches tin generously with olive oil and put away for a while.

Take a small bowl, pour the warm water into it and stir in the yeast. Put in a warm place for 15 minutes or until frothy.

Put the flour into a large bowl and add the olive oil and 2 tsp salt. Pour in the yeast mixture and remaining water, mix well.

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, or until soft and stretchy. The dough should be quite wet, but it shouldn’t be sticky. Put the dough in a large, well-oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough. Flatten the dough out over the base of the tin to cover it completely. Using your fingers, splash the surface with some water , then sprinkle over some coarse salt and drizzle with lots of olive oil (be generous with the oil).

Using your fingertips, make lots of deep dimples all over the surface of the dough. Leave the dough to rise in a warm, draught-free place for 2 hours, or until doubled in volume. After 1 ½ hours preheat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F /Gas 6

Bake the focaccia bread for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, during which time it will absorb all the olive oil on the surface. Drizzle over a little more olive oil,add the olives and then bake for a further 20-25 minutes, or until the focaccia is golden in color.

Immediately remove the focaccia bread from the tin and allow it to cool slightly on a wire rack. Serve while still slightly warm.