Focaccia
500g AP or 00 Flour
425g Water at room temperature
150g Starter
20g Honey or 10g Malt powder
5g Dry active yeast
20g Sea salt
You can follow along this recipe with my Instagram post here.
The night before, mix your starter at 100% hydration. I like to feed mine at 3:3:1 (flour, water, starter). If you don’t have a sourdough starter, mix 75g flour, 75g water, and 1g yeast and leave overnight in a covered container at room temperature.
Combine all ingredients except the flour and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Whisk together until the yeast dissolves.
Add the flour and salt together on top. Using a spatula or your hands, mix for about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as much as possible to make sure there’s no pockets of flour. You’re not going to end up with a smooth dough, just keep mixing until it begins to come away from the sides of the bowl. Cover and allow to rise.
After about an hour, it should be about doubled in size. If not, let it go a little longer. Wet your hands and start the first fold. Bring the sides of the dough towards the middle as to wrap the dough around itself. Turn the bowl and repeat until all sides are folded into the middle. Then flip the dough over and tuck in the sides. Cover and allow to rise again.
Again, after an hour it will double. Do the same folding technique as step 4. Instead of flipping into the bowl, dump it into a generously oiled baking pan. My pan is 12” x 12”, so you’ll want something similar. If using a non-coated aluminum pan, I suggest lining the bottom with parchment. Then fold the top of the dough towards the middle and then the bottom over the top as if you’re folding a tasty business letter in 3. After, fold either right or left to the centre and flip the dough over and tuck in the sides. Cover and let it rise for an hour or so.
The dough should spread out to almost the entire tray. Drizzle a small amount of oil on top and on your fingertips. Grab the sides of the dough and flip the top underneath a couple times and repeat for the bottom. Imagine you’re creating a coil with each end of the dough. Turn the dough 90° and tuck in the top and bottom and the sides to form a square. Don’t worry about it being perfect, the worst thing you can do is over handle the dough at this point. Cover and allow to rise again.
Repeat the same coil fold technique as step 6. This is the last time we’ll fold the dough. Cover and wait again for roughly a half hour.
The dough will naturally spread out. At this point we’re just going to help out the shape of the dough. As lightly as you can, grab from underneath each corner and gently pull towards each corner of the tray. Try your best to even out the dough. Again, don’t over handle it, we want to keep as much air in as possible. Preheat your oven to 425℉.
For the last time, we’re going to let it rest for another half hour or so. The dough should more or less fill the entire tray. It’s probably best to leave the dough in a warm spot (on top of your preheating oven).
Drizzle some olive oil on top and dimple the focaccia. Top the focaccia with rosemary (I like to roughly chop mine) and sea salt. Bake at 425℉ for 17-25 minutes with convection if you can. Times rely heavily on how efficient your oven is. For mine, I bake on the top rack with two baking trays as the bottom tends to cook more quickly. It may take a few focaccias to dial it in properly. Once cooked, allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting (I know it’s really tempting).
Notes:
- Patience is key for this recipe. There are many times when you need to let the dough rest. It’s always better to let it go longer than shorter.
-I prefer to use an AP or 00 soft wheat flour rather than bread flour. It makes for a lighter loaf.
-Since there’s no mixer involved, all the gluten development is made in the folds and resting time. If you’ve never handled dough like this, it will take some time to get used to.
-The goal is to have a crispy outside and a satisfyingly moist, light, and chewy crumb.\
Share to:
