01 July 2025

From the Craggy Range Kitchen: Potato Focaccia

Chef Casey McDonald’s potato focaccia has become something of a signature at Craggy Range Restaurant. With its delicate, golden crust and bubbly interior, it’s a dish that guests often remember long after their visit.

This recipe was inspired by Casey’s years abroad, and one that has been perfected over the years. It is wonderfully simple to make, even a novice baker must try.

At the restaurant, we serve it with cultured butter infused with camembert, finished with a drizzle of local honey and sprinkle of sea salt.

The Recipe

This recipe makes three loaves.

Chefs tip: Potatoes are all quite different and will give varying results. We like to use Agria potatoes. They are easy to find and wonderfully starchy, which helps to create a light interior and structured crumb – perfect for soaking up olive oil or butter!

We encourage you to experiment a little, try out different flavours by adding some fresh rosemary, thyme or olives.

INGREDIENTS

  • 400g potato (peeled, chopped)
  • 1L water
  • 1kg 00 flour
  • 20g dry yeast
  • 20g sugar
  • 10g salt
  • Olive oil
  • Flaky sea salt

METHOD

  1. Boil potatoes with water until soft.
  2. Drain, reserving one litre of the cooking liquid.
  3. Using a hand blender, puree the cooked potato with the one litre of potato water. This can be done ahead of time and stored in the fridge.
  4. The potato and water mixture needs to be warm, about room temperature (or up to 45°C)
  5. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar and yeast.
  6. Slowly add the potato liquid, stirring to combine. Use your hands to give it a good mix.
  7. When fully mixed, add salt and mix until incorporated.
  8. Place dough into a well-oiled and salted heavy black pan. Cover with clingfilm and leave to prove for around 45 minutes - 1 hour.
  9. Once proved, drizzle with more oil and flaky salt. Gently run a spatula around the edge between the dough and the pan to loosen and stop it sticking.
  10. Allow it to rest for a further 15 minutes, as you may have knocked a bit of the air out with the spatula.
  11. Bake at 210°C fan-forced for 20 minutes.
  12. Reduce to 190°C and bake a further 15 minutes.
  13. Flip out onto a rack to cool.