Add the first 5 ingredients to a large bowl. Pour over the water.

Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until everything is combined and a ball of dough starts to form.

Add a tiny bit more flour if the dough is still really sticky (but not too much - you want the dough to be on the wetter/stickier side). Then, with floured hands, knead just enough times to gather into a smooth ball of dough.

Lift up the dough while you spray or brush a little oil over the bottom and sides of the bowl. Then cover the bowl of dough with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1 to 3 hours, or until roughly doubled in size (or leave for longer - see note below for details). If you leave the dough in a warm place it will rise faster (again, see notes below).

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the chopped rosemary over the dough and mix it in with floured hands (optional). Add any other mix-ins at this point.

Press the dough into a rectangular or circular cake pan or baking dish. I usually use a 10 x 7 inch cake pan or an 8 inch circular cake tin. Roughly push the dough right to the edges.

Cover with a tea towel again and leave for about 30 minutes more. After 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 220C / 430F.

Push your thumb into the dough in a few places to make indentations. Then sprinkle over the rest of the rosemary, if using. Drizzle over about a tablespoon of olive oil. Grind over some sea salt (optional).

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the bread is golden on top and has started to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Serve warm with a meal, slice into 4-6 and make sandwiches, or slice into fingers and serve with a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as an appetizer. The bread is best eaten the same day, but you can make a toasted sandwich or croutons the next day. You can also freeze leftovers for 3 to 6 months (but best eaten within a month).