Don’t pour that olive brine down the drain – it’s a flavour bomb | Waste not
When I taste-tested olives for the food filter column a few months ago, it reminded me that the brine is an ingredient in its own right.This intensely savoury liquid adds umami depth to whatever it touches, and, beyond seasoning soups and stews, it can also be used to make salamoia, the aromatic brine that’s traditionally used to top focaccia and create that perfect salty crust.Pouring olive brine down the sink is like washing pure flavour down the drain.Instead, save it to supercharge your focaccia, creating a beautifully flavoured, salted crust that elevates an ordinary loaf into something extraordinary.While I’m partial to rosemary and olives as toppings, this focaccia delivers heaps of flavour even when kept completely plain and simple.
Taking inspiration from both Giorgio Locatelli and Solmaz Saberi, who makes an incredible tomato soup focaccia on Substack, I’ve come up with this recipe with a simplified method and a high-hydration dough (around 80-85%) that creates a light and fluffy focaccia even with the addition of a little wholemeal flour,While I adore the occasional treat of fluffy white bread, as a wholefood recipe writer I’m always exploring where wholemeal flour can be included to add nutrition and depth of flavour,A ratio of about 15-20% wholemeal flour mixed with majority white flour works beautifully here,For the salamoia30ml olive brine, at room temperature (or water mixed with a tablespoon of sea salt)30ml extra-virgin olive oil Flaky salt, to finish (optional)For the dough500g flour (eg, all-purpose, strong white flour; if you like, substitute 15-20% of it with wholemeal flour)5g dried yeast 1 tbsp sugar, or honey5g fine sea salt 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oilOptional toppingsRosemary leaves Pitted olivesPut the olive brine and extra-virgin olive oil in a small bowl and whisk until emulsified,Mix the flour with the yeast, then add 425ml warm water (if you have any leftover brine in need of using up, use that instead of some of the warm water).
Stir in the sugar, sea salt and extra-virgin olive oil,Knead until evenly mixed, then cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for 20 minutes,Fold the dough into a neat round by pulling up each corner and folding it over into the centre, so tensioning the surface of the dough, then tip fold side down on to a well-oiled 23cm baking tray,Rub the surface with a little olive oil, then press out the dough with your fingertips, so it fills the tray,Cover again with a damp cloth and leave for about an hour, until doubled in size.
Scatter the optional rosemary leaves and pitted olives to taste over the top, then use oiled fingertips to press dimples all over the top of the dough.Evenly drizzle over the salamoia, leave for 20 minutes while the oven heats up to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, then bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.This article was edited on 12 November 2025 to clarify when the yeast should be added to the flour mix.
US markets struggle amid tech sell-off and economic uncertainty
Wall Street came under pressure on Thursday, enduring its worst day in a month as a sell-off of technology stocks intensified.After an extraordinary rally around hopes for artificial intelligence that propelled global stock markets to record highs, fears that tech firms are now overvalued loom large.Investors are also braced for the release of a batch of official data on the state of the US economy, amid heightened uncertainty over its strength during the federal government shutdown.The benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average each closed down 1.7% in New York on Thursday, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite dropped 2
Atom is prematurely split in the ‘golden age’ transatlantic partnership | Nils Pratley
It had all been so harmonious two months ago. “Together with the US, we’re building a golden age of nuclear that puts both countries at the forefront of global innovation and investment,” purred the prime minister about the new “landmark” UK-US nuclear partnership.Now there’s an atomic split over the first significant decision. The UK has allocated Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, or Ynys Môn, to host three small modular reactors (SMRs) to be built by the British developer Rolls-Royce SMR. The US ambassador, Warren Stephens, says his country is “extremely disappointed”: he wanted Westinghouse, a US company, to get the gig for a large-scale reactor
AI slop tops Billboard and Spotify charts as synthetic music spreads
Three songs generated by artificial intelligence topped music charts this week, reaching the highest spots on Spotify and Billboard charts.Walk My Walk and Livin’ on Borrowed Time by the outfit Breaking Rust topped Spotify’s “Viral 50” songs in the US, which documents the “most viral tracks right now” on a daily basis, according to the streaming service. A Dutch song, We Say No, No, No to an Asylum Center, an anti-migrant anthem by JW “Broken Veteran” that protests against the creation of new asylum centers, took the top position in Spotify’s global version of the viral chart around the same time. Breaking Rust also appeared in the top five on the global chart.“You can kick rocks if you don’t like how I talk,” reads a lyric from Walk My Walk, a seeming double entendre challenging those opposed to AI-generated music
UK firms can win a significant chunk of the AI chip market | John Browne
The UK is in a uniquely promising position, far too little understood, to play a lucrative role in the coming era of artificial intelligence – but only if it also grabs the opportunity to start making millions of computer chips.AI requires vast numbers of chips and we could supply up to 5% of world demand if we get our national act together.Our legacy in chip design is world-class, starting with the first general-purpose electronic computer, the first electronic memory and the first parallel computer. Today we have Cambridge-based Arm, a quiet titan designing more than 90% of the chips powering phones and tablets globally.With such a pedigree, it is not idle daydreaming for British companies to win a significant chunk of the AI chip market; 5% is a conservative, achievable ambition
Eli Katoa’s playing future uncertain as recovery from head impacts, seizures and brain surgery continues
Melbourne Storm backrower and Tonga star Eli Katoa faces the prospect of further weeks in hospital and possibly time in a rehabilitation centre as he begins his slow recovery from brain surgery after he suffered three head knocks against New Zealand 12 days ago.The 25-year-old remains in hospital in Auckland, and alarming information provided by his club on Friday indicates there is no guarantee one of the game’s best forwards will play again.Katoa appeared to suffer a concussion in the warmup in the Pacific Championships clash two weeks ago when his head collided with Tonga teammate Lehi Hopoate.But he was allowed to play, and received two more head impacts during the game, before suffering seizures on the sideline and needing emergency surgery to release bleeding on the brain.The Storm chief executive, Justin Rodski, said Katoa’s recovery was only beginning
Donald Trump’s granddaughter Kai in last after 83 in shaky LPGA debut
Kai Trump, the US president’s granddaughter and the eldest child of Donald Trump Jr, opened her LPGA career with a 13-over-par 83 on Thursday at The Annika, a debut round that left her at the bottom of the leaderboard and underscored the chasm between elite junior golf and a field stacked with the sport’s top professionals.The 18-year-old amateur, playing on a much-discussed sponsor’s exemption, began her round on the back nine alongside former major champion Hinako Shibuno and Germany’s Olivia Cowan. She received warm applause when her name was announced on the par-4 10th tee and again after she drove it safely into the fairway, one of the few calm moments in a jittery start.Trump confessed afterward she was more nervous than when she spoke at the Republican National Convention last year and it showed. She bogeyed her opening four holes, a run of tentative strokes that left her scrambling before she had taken a fifth swing from a fairway
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‘We’re ready for the All Blacks’: Maro Itoje builds belief in improved England