--- title: "Stained glass focaccia" url: "https://probablyworthsharing.com/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/" author: "Marko Savic" published: "2023-04-30" type: "newsletter post" description: "And tips on how to be a better baker. I relate a lot to Ted Lasso. I think I have the relentless optimism he has in people, the ability to believe them…" source: "https://probablyworthsharing.substack.com/p/stained-glass-focaccia" --- # Stained glass focaccia *And tips on how to be a better baker* ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/48b96ccc-8b3d-4cb5-9d10-326c75a17421-a9c800.jpeg)I finally started watching Ted Lasso. Almost everyone in my life has been telling me to watch it since it came out. I watched the whole first season last night, in one sitting. I also did the same with Shrinking last weekend (which has a better first season than Ted Lasso, and if you haven’t watched Shrinking yet you must). I relate a lot to Ted Lasso. I think I have the relentless optimism he has in people, the ability to believe them no matter what, and to help them believe in themselves. Even when things get hard. Even when they let themselves down. When I was in a leadership role, I would buy a mug for people on my team going through a tough time – it said “believe in your fucking self.” Lately I’ve been struggling to believe in myself, to trust myself, so I think it’s time I finally buy one for me. I’ve been thinking about the kind of person I want to be and the kind of people who I want and need in my life to get there. It’s *really* hard to become the person you want to be. It’s easier if you have people who make you want to be better, people who inspire you to put in the work. I have someone new in my life who’s inspiring me to be a better Marko. I can feel myself changing me from the inside out. I’m excited to see who I become after this period of deep work, as I learn to believe in myself again. On the flipside, there are people who want you to be someone you’re not. I recently auditioned for the Great Canadian Baking Show. I did not get on. I did make it to the final round of auditions, what they call the Bake Along. It’s a 90-minute Zoom meeting where you have to make a decorative bake, live on Zoom while they quiz you about your life. You have to make a trendy Pinterest food, food I wouldn’t ever make (or even eat because it’s a terrible eating experience) – but food that’s great for an Instagram story. Figuring out how to make this never felt like I was becoming a better version of myself – I was becoming someone else instead. I didn’t feel good about it. In my rejection letter, they said I need to spend another year working on my decorating skills and identify what my “point of view” as a baker is. It took some time, but I realized that they want a person I am not. I’m not the kind of baker who likes the TikTok cake decorating arms race. I am not the baker who makes ever more beautiful foods that go viral. When your audition is on Zoom, your show is on TV, and your photos are on Instagram, they don’t get to taste your food. It doesn’t matter how it tastes. It matters how it looks. There’s nothing wrong with people who value that, but that’s not what I value. I value flavour first and foremost. I’m a reliable person, so I like reliable recipes, which often means removing decorations. I like connecting the quality of ingredients, our food system, and our social issues together – which often means simpler few, since good ingredients are expensive and you don’t want to risk them on a bad recipe. I want to inspire people to believe they can make great food at home. Cooking is easy, it’s affordable, it tastes great, and it feels really nice to be able to care for the people in your life through food. I like to help people believe in themselves. The most joy I get from this job is when people tell me about how they made my recipes *and they turned out so great*. Every day I hear from someone different who’s made this cauliflower recipe and it changed their view on vegetables. So that’s my point of view, and that’s why I do this work. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=290Ae2ZchRk As part of the audition process I had to make a decorative bake. I made this stained glass focaccia, inspired by a needle point my mom made that’s still hanging in our childhood home. It’s a beautiful dish, but it’s about the flavour. The focaccia itself is my cold-proof, no-knead recipe that has a deep flavour from the long time in the fridge (and it’s easy! Linda, who never made bread before, makes it in the kitchen *on her boat* every week now!). The salami roses become crispy-tender, like the perfect pepperoni cup. The braided chives are beautiful, but the braiding also stops them from burning. The tomatoes, garlic, and shallots round of the flavours. There is something delicious no matter which slice you get. It’s easy, it’s repeatable, it’s *special*. And anyone can make it. ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/9455fc75-351c-4b25-baa3-e42342d0752a-11a90b.jpeg)You can make it for Mother’s Day next week (or Motherless day, depending on how you celebrate). It’s particularly good if your mom is a charcuterie board fan or the type of person to [ask for a cold cut platter at her funeral](https://probablyworthsharing.com/newsletter/the-lasagna-of-sadness/). If your mom is around and you have a relationship you want to invest in, invest in it while she is still around. The focaccia recipe is below. If you’ve never made bread before, I have 3 tips for you to feel confident you can make this. *I know you can make these recipes.* What I need is for you to believe in your fucking self. And I need you to buy a kitchen scale for $15. ## Cups aren’t real Do you ever wonder why recipes say “1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, half if using Morton’s” and then zero guidance for your pink Himalayan salt? Salt has varying densities based on the shape of the salt crystals. * 1 tsp Diamond: 3 grams * 1 tsp Morton’s: 6 grams * 1 tsp pink Himalayan salt: it depends on your salt grinder, who knows?! The same is true for flour. If you just scoop flour, it could be anywhere from 75g to 250g. You could tediously sift it, scoop it with a spoon, level off the top with a knife. Or you could buy a $15 scale and measure 120 grams every time. I hear people say “I can’t do this, I can’t bake” there are two possible answers: 1. You’re a no good very bad baker. You can’t learn any new skills. You’re a horrible person and no one will ever love you. You simply should never try because it will never work. 2. The way we measure and communicate ingredients is inherently inaccurate, so you can accidentally use twice as much flour without meaning to, and that’s really shitty but there’s an easy solution and it costs $15 if you want to put aside your bullshit and try it. You might be thinking, “what if my recipe accounts for how people measure by hand?” WHO’S HAND?! WHO’S CUP?! Everyone measures differently! If you want to convert a recipe you’re already making, measure the weight as you make it the way you normally do and then write the weights down! 100 grams is almost always 100 grams. 1 cup is never 1 cup. I have the [Escali scale](https://amzn.to/3Lb0n7m), but the [Amazon Basics scale](https://amzn.to/3LhspOI) is accurate enough for most people. ### **How to use a scale** Kitchen scales do a self-calibration when you turn them on. Dust off your counter, place the scale on a flat surface, then press “on”. If you turn it on in your hands or on a pile of crumbs it might be off. Almost all kitchen scales have a “tare” or “zero” function – this reset the scale’s display to zero, so you don’t have to do mental math. #### **Method 1 – everything in a big bowl** This is what I usually do and everything works out fine. * Place a bowl on the scale * Tare it (zero) * Add an ingredient * Tare it * Repeat #### **Method 2 – use a measuring bowl and a big bowl** This is moderately more accurate for small volume ingredients (like measuring 3 grams of yeast), and it gives you more control as you’re learning how to measure ingredients (for example, it’s really hard to remove salt if you add too much to a bowl that already has flour in it). * Set a large bowl on your counter * Place a small bowl on the scale * Tare it (reset to 0) * Add one ingredient * Dump that ingredient from your small bowl to your larger bowl * Repeat with the next ingredient in your small bowl There are a lot of people who will say scales are inaccurate for small volumes, but I do all of my baking with a scale. If you’re an anxious person, you can get a coffee scale that measures accurately to 0.1 grams for things like salt and yeast. But I don’t do that. And your teaspoon was wrong anyway, so let it go. Please just buy a $15 scale. ## Your oven is a liar Why does your bread take 30 minutes one day, 60 minutes the next, and the recipe says 45 minutes? Because your oven is a liar. Ovens have a variety of internal sensors that can degrade over time (or just get dirty and covered in grease). So your oven might think it’s 350°F, but it’s actually 300°F or 400°F. It might be consistently off, which you can learn and adjust how you bake. If you frequently run into issues where your food burns or takes 25–50% longer than a recipe, you probably have issues with your oven. But you don’t need a new oven, you need [a $10 thermometer.](https://amzn.to/3LGmows) ### **How the temperature is read by your oven** Ovens are very finicky – they read the temperature using a thermometer, often in the upper back corner. Since the top-corner doesn’t necessarily reflect the part of the oven you’re baking in, complex math happens behind the scenes to approximate the baking temperature. This thermometer can also be damaged over time, or coated in grease that polymerizes, creating a coating that interferes with the readings. Moisture also affects the reading. ### **How to check your oven’s calibration** Place an oven-safe thermometer in your oven, in a place you can see it when the oven door is closed. You’ll also need a notebook (or a note on your phone). Set your oven to bake and 350°F and leave the door closed the whole time. When your oven finishes the pre-heat cycle, look at the temperature and write it down. Wait 15 minutes and write down the temperature. Do this 3 more times (5 total readings, 1 hour post pre-heating). You want to notice a few things. 1. What is the average temperature? Is it close to your target? 2. How large are the variations? 1. Are the variations in one direction, like the oven is 325°F when it should be 350°F? If so, you may need to recalibrate your oven. 2. Are the variations wild swings, like the oven is 325°F and 375°F? If so, you may need service on your oven. ### **Calibrating your oven** You can refer to your owners manual for how to calibrate your oven, but I would recommend you try the following first – adjust a few recipes to accommodate for why your oven is off. If you set the oven to 350°F, but the thermometer shows 325°F, set your oven to 375°F. Does it fix the problem? Do your bakes come out as expected? Depending how that goes you can try to adjust the calibration yourself or call an expert. ## Use a thermometer I don’t understand people who say they measure the doneness of a steak by comparing it to how clenched their palm is. It’s ridiculous. What if your palm has more fat than someone else’s? What if you have really strong palms from rock climbing? Is your chicken done because it’s white now? How long has it been white? Is it 165°F and safe to eat, or 195°F and dry leather? You’re going to find out when it’s too late to change anything. What you need is a thermometer. You can buy an analog thermometer for $15, but I would strongly recommend a [Thermapen](https://www.thermoworks.com/thermapen-one/) if you can afford it (it makes a great gift!) – but any kind of thermometer is better than nothing. You’ve seen me use this in my videos. A thermometer is data. It gives repeatable, reliable facts. If you feel you don’t need one, don’t use one. But if you find you’re over- or under-cooking things, it’s an indispensable tool to make your cooking the same every time. When it comes to bread, like this focaccia recipe, a thermometer gives you a perfect indication for when a bread is ready. Gluten completes denaturing at around 185°F, so most breads will be fully cooked at 190°F. Enriched breads, meaning added butter and milk like brioche, are done around 205°F. For a soft bread like focaccia, checking the temperature is a great way to ensure you’re getting the perfect texture every time. I also use a thermometer when cooking meat, reheating frozen food, making cheese, caramel, yogurt, and more. My Thermapen is one of my most used kitchen tools. ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/6475b0b4-576e-4fcf-a40f-e144f55628f7-e35d77.jpeg)# Stained glass focaccia recipe I’m editing the video for this now, but I’m quite behind on my schedule due to the disruption the baking show had on my life. The video will have visual tutorials for creating the decorations, but for now I can give you pictures and an older tutorial video for the focaccia dough. I will post on Substack Notes once the video is up. This focaccia recipe is relatively forgiving, so if you’re not ready to start using these tools to be a better baker, that’s okay! The focaccia will still work. But if you do get these tools, this focaccia will change your life. Next week I will also publish some printable, PDF diagrams for different focaccia designs for different pan sizes for paying subscribers. ### Ingredients **Focaccia dough** * 800 grams all purpose flour (~6 cups) * 640 grams water at 40° Celsius (2-3/4 cups) * 60 grams olive oil (~1/4 cup) * 18 grams salt (1-1/2 tablespoons if using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt) * 15 grams honey (1 tablespoon) * 3 grams active dry yeast (1 teaspoon) **Toppings:** * 60 grams olive oil (1/4 cup) * 5 grams salt (1 teaspoon) * 60 grams water (1/4 cup) * 175g Salami, 2-1/2–3” thin slices (preferably from a regenerative farm) – 9 slices per rose, for 5 roses you want 45 thin slices. * 50g chives (longer is better, Chinese chives work great if you’re braiding chives but I used the unlabelled “chives” from the grocery store.) * 10–15 Cherry tomatoes * 1 head of garlic * 1–2 shallots, ideally a small one * 1/4 cup olive oil for frying basil * 10–15 small basil leaves, rinsed and dried on a kitchen towel ### Method ### **Make the focaccia dough** Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AmBKqJhZsI **1-5 days before you want to eat:** Mix all the dough ingredients in a bowl until no dry flour remains, about a minute. Cover and place in the fridge overnight, up to 5 days. 3 days creates the optimal flavour, but most often I leave this overnight. **On the day you are ready to bake:** For the decorative focaccia, I’ve made this in both a 13x9 pan (3 roses) and a regular baking sheet (half-sheet). The half-sheet gives you a thinner focaccia and more room for decorations. Whatever pan you are using, generously oil it so the focaccia doesn’t stick. Remove the dough from the fridge, and move it from the bowl into your baking pan. Gently tug the sides of the dough slightly larger than the size of your pan – it will contract slightly. If the dough resists you or tears, give it 5 minutes to relax. Cover the dough and proof until it has doubled in size and is very jiggly when shaken. Depending on the temperature of your house this can range from 4 to 6 hours in cooler climates and 1-2 hours in the summer. In a proofing box it will take 90 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450°F / 425° if using convection. **Dimple the dough** Pour the remaining olive oil onto the dough, then coat your hands in olive oil to make them non stick. Poke your fingers into the dough as if you are playing piano to create dimples. The dimples give the dough room to expand and create pockets for the olive oil. You want to be thorough but gentle in this process. ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/59b916ad-0b11-4800-8654-40794385fb5e-cd2710.png)\*Twisting chives is easy, twist right before putting them onto the focaccia dough – the dough will keep the shape.\* ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/0182c9c4-9e38-4c0b-b031-86a045f69ac8-044d38.png)\*Braided chives are beautiful but tedious and frustrating, so it depends on how much work you want to put into this. It will take you an hour. You will rip chives. But you can do this with the help of a good podcast.\* **Braid (or twist) your chives** Chives will look “pointy” and burn in the oven if you simply place them on the focaccia dough. You have two options, 1. Twist the chives – take 3 chives, twist them together, and then push them into the dough to help them keep their shape. It’s relatively fast and prevents burning, it will look good and taste good. 2. Braid the chives – take 3 chives, gently tie a knot at the top. Braid the chives and tie a knot at the bottom. Use kitchen shears to cut the excess off. Braided chives will look really beautiful and hold their shape better. You can use the knots as decoration points, covering them with vegetables or salami roses. Make sure you have enough chives to create a frame around the center of your roses, as well as for the vines for your roses and shallot flowers. ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/eabeceac-a34a-4874-a87e-1a00d5a35e88-86f346.png)\*The salami roses use an espresso cup or shot glass as a mold, layering the salami in an overlapping pattern to create a rose-like shape.\* ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/1473213f-9e8c-46db-a7b6-f1639637ec0a-783ec9.png)**Make salami roses** You need a small (1”–1-1/2" wide) container – like an espresso cup or shot glass. Each rose needs 9 pieces of salami, creating 3 layers of of 3 pieces each. * Place a piece of salami 1/3 into the glass, 2/3 out and fold it over the edge * Overlap the next piece and fold in the same way, repeat for a third piece. You should have covered the full glass. * For your second layer, stagger the salami so it’s shifted to the left or right from the first row. Fold 3 pieces with 1/2 in the glass, 1/2 out of the glass. * For the final layer, stagger the salami again, and fold the pieces with 2/3 in the glass and 1/3 out of the glass. * Press firmly on the edge of the glass to keep the shape. * Drop the salami rose out of the glass * Set aside on a plate in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble **Cut the vegetables** * Slice the cherry tomatoes in half, so they can appear like rosehips. * Peel the garlic and slice it in half, from north pole to south pole. Keep the matching halves together. * Peel the shallot by slicing into the outer paper, but leaving the shallot whole. Slice the shallot from north pole to south pole, creating tulip shaped pieces of shallot. Set vegetables aside. **Draft your decorations** Lay out all your decorations on your counter or another baking sheet before you get started. This will help you know if you have enough decorations before you get started. ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/6c5c5526-8bfa-43fc-8499-e7aa2a33864f-63e89c.png)\*It’s very important to start with the right frame and layout before adding all your other decorations.\* ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/dcdb4e3a-28bc-4a5d-8389-b828f2c10e0b-ed5c7e.png)\*Place the largest, most critical elements first then start adding supplemental items to fill in the blanks.\* **Start decorating** * Start decorating by building your frame out of chives, this will help you keep everything centered. Gently press the chives into the dough to keep them in place. * After the frame is in place, add all of your vines leading to where flowers will be. To keep the vines in the curves of your frame, try overlapping them. * Add your salami roses, pressing down into the flat area (where the glass lip was) to adhere them to the focaccia dough * Add your shallots as tulips * Add your tomatoes as rosehips * Pair the sliced garlic in half around the edges of the frame as decorative elements * Make the salt brine by mixing the remaining salt and water together in a bowl. Pour the salt brine on top of the dough, doing your best to distribute it evenly. **Bake** Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes, the residual heat will continue to crisp the edges and allow the bread proteins to settle (as with any bread, if you cut into it too early the texture may become gummy). If the edges are stuck to your pan, use an offset spatula to separate from the pan and move to a wire rack to cool. ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/cba642f3-ffa2-490d-8385-52ba2deece35-715c6e.jpeg)**Fry basil** The basil is added after baking so that it stays beautiful. If you try to bake it it will burn. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan until shimmering, but not smoking. Throw in your basil. Your basil needs to be very dry or it will sputter and splash. If your oil is hot enough the basil will immediately begin to fry and within 30 seconds become a vivid green with the texture of stained glass. If your basil turns brown the oil is too hot. Remove it to a rack or clean kitchen towel. Fried basil looks beautiful, tastes amazing, and is shatteringly crisp – making for a great eating experience. Place the fried basil leaves around the flowers. Assuming your oil doesn’t reach its smoke point, you can also use this basil oil in other applications (even as a base for the garlic oil!). **Serve** Serve warm. It’s best fresh. ![](https://probablyworthsharing.com/images/newsletter/stained-glass-focaccia/e3546aee-d8d7-4f3d-9c88-3dd37bad7c64-cba310.png)