Make the focaccia dough according to recipe instructions. You can use my same-day, overnight or sourdough focaccia recipes for this. Check my Samsung Food profile or the Lace Bakes or Will It Focaccia communities on Samsung Food to find these recipes.

As the dough is proofing in the bowl, get started on the caramelised onions. These will need about 45 minutes to cook down properly, and they’ll need to have cooled by the time your dough is ready to tip into the tray. Plan accordingly.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium low heat. Add in the sliced onions and stir to coat evenly in the butter. Leave them to cook for 5 minutes and then stir. After about 20 minutes you’ll notice them starting to turn brown and they may start to stick on the pan. When this happens, add a splash of the beef stock into the pan, scrape off any onion residue that’s stuck to the bottom of the pan and stir. Check back every 5-10 minutes to stir and deglaze with more beef stock. After about 30 minutes add in the thyme. When the onions have reached a deep amber brown colour, check the seasoning and add in some salt and pepper if needed. Set aside to cool.

As the onions cook, grate the cheeses and mix them together. If you're using shop bought croutons, crush them slightly so they're on the smaller side...we don't want huge croutons on top.

If you're making the croutons, dice a large slice of bread into small cubes, place onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with flaky salt and pepper. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 355F (180C).

When the dough has fully proofed in the bowl, tip it out onto a baking tray that has been lined with parchment paper and coated with extra virgin olive oil. Spread the dough out as much as possible so there is plenty of surface area to add in the caramelised onions and cheese. Spread half of the onions over the dough and sprinkle over half of the cheese.

With oiled hands, fold one side of the dough towards the middle of the blob of dough. Repeat with the other side, a bit like folding a piece of paper into thirds (it will look a bit like a burrito). Rotate the dough in the tray so the length of the dough aligns with the length of the tray and then flip the dough so the seams from the folding are at the bottom and the smoother side is at the top. The caramelised onions and cheese should be nicely encased inside of the dough.

Cover the tray of dough using another tray that’s been inverted or you can also use an oiled piece of parchment paper. Leave it to proof at room temperature for 1-1.5 hours.

Preheat the oven to 220C/430F. If you have a pizza setting on your oven, use that as it helps to crisp up the bottom of the focaccia. I find that adjusting the rack to the bottom position of the oven helps to crisp up the bottom of the focaccia too (for most ovens).

Once the focaccia is fully proofed, drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil over the entire surface of the dough and then dimple it all over. Sprinkle the dough with some flaky sea salt and then bake on the lowest rack of the oven for 12-14 minutes.

Remove the par-baked focaccia from the oven, spread the remaining caramelised onions over the top of the bread and then scatter the rest of the cheese over the onions. Scatter over the croutons and then drizzle over a little more olive oil.

Bake the focaccia for an additional 6-10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and starting to turn a golden brown colour.

Remove from oven, transfer focaccia from the tray onto a cooling rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting in. Enjoy!

For the full French onion soup experience, heat up a little more beef stock in the pan that you used to caramelise the onions. Scrape down any extra residue and add in some black pepper. Use this as a dip for your warm bread.