Focaccia
Focaccia is the Italian 'flat'bread which is anything but. It has a distinctive dimpled top, bubbly inside & olive oil-rich crust. Delicious! Start 2-3 days aheadRemember that the dough is turned out into the baking dish and left at room temperature for 3 hours before baking. You need about 150ml/g of olive oil in total. We use it in, under and on top of the dough 😊
Equipment
- Deep roasting pan (32x 23cm, at least 5cm deep)
- Large rectangular plastic container (about 4 Litre capacity)
Ingredients
- 820 g bread flour
- 120 g wholewheat flour
- 830 g lukewarm water
- 8 g instant yeast
- 20 g salt
- olive oil
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Combine Flours - weigh both flours directly in the bowl of a stand-mixer and combine using a hand whisk.820 g bread flour120 g wholewheat flour
- Water & Yeast - add the yeast to the flour with about half the water. Spend a few moments bringing the mixture together with a flexible spatula before adding the rest of the water. This is easier than trying to do it all in one go. Make sure there is no dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. Using the dough hook attachment with the stand mixer at low speed, knead for 10 minutes. You haven’t done anything wrong; the mix is supposed to look like loose porridge.830 g lukewarm water8 g instant yeast
- Salt - add salt. Increase to low-medium speed and knead for another 10 minutes.20 g salt
- Oil - add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and knead for an extra 3-5 minutes.olive oil
- Slap & Fold - literally pour the dough (that’s how wet it is!) onto a work surface for the brief hands-on time. We ‘slap and fold’ the dough for a couple of minutes. Pick up the dough (as best as you can pick up a very loose thing!) with a hand either side. Imagine a large ‘O’-shape resting on the work surface side on to you. Draw this shape with your hands, moving towards your body and then away. Let go of the dough (some will stick to your hands) and pick it up again, this time from the folded sides and draw an 'O' shape facing you. Do this for a couple of minutes, alternating between east-west and north-south orientation of your hands with each slap and fold. The dough will become nice and smooth and not quite so sticky.
- Cool Ferment – transfer the dough to a well-oiled container at least 4x volume of the dough (it grows a lot!) ie around 4 litres. Ideally the container will have a lid (also oiled) or you can use tightly wrapped clingfilm. Put in the fridge for 48-72hrs (up to 3 days!).
- Grease Pan – liberally grease the roasting pan with ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) olive oil.olive oil
- Room Temp. Rest - transfer the dough gently into the baking pan. Go as if to ‘pour’ dough out. Unsucker the dough with a silicone spatula so that it slides out without disrupting the air bubbles too much. It will generally spread out to fill available space; you can gently maneuverer to edges without stretching too much. Cover the pan with plastic wrap or use an inverted baking tray instead. Make sure that whatever you top the dough with doesn’t touch it (and allows space for growth). You don’t want to disturb the bubbles by peeling it off. Leave at room temperature for 3 hours. It will bubble up again.
- Preheat Oven - to hottest temperature it will go to; usually about 250°C
- Dimple – just before baking, drizzle the dough (and your fingers) another ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of olive oil before dimpling all over with your fingertips. You can press all the way down to the bottom. Sprinkle generously with salt.flaky sea salt
- Bake - 20 minutes cooking time, turning the pan halfway through. Nice to get some ‘char’.
- Cool on Rack – as soon as it’s cool enough to handle, drag the focaccia out of the pan. Allow to cool on a wire rack so that the bottom doesn’t get soggy.
Notes
Make Ahead
This bread freezes well. Allow it to cool completely. Wrap in baking paper, then foil before freezing. When ready to reheat, place directly in a preheated 150°C oven (without defrosting or unwrapping) until hot all the way through, about 30 minutes.Â