Focaccia for the Lazy

Focaccia is a love letter to olive oil – it’s breathtakingly tasty and a great way to experience the differences in olive oil (since its often lost when used in cooking). It has a crispy, almost deep fried edge; it’s salty like a potato chip; but fluffy like a cloud inside.

This recipe is great bread recipe for beginners, with no kneading and forgiving proofing times, you can’t focaccia this up. But it’s also for the lazy, since time is developing the gluten and flavor for you. The flavor is deeply complex due to the long, cold fermentation which allows the yeast to turn starches into complex flavors.

If you’ve never made bread before, I think focaccia can be your gateway bread. The results are addictive and you will impress the people in your life with the results. If you only ever make one recipe from my catalogue, make this one.

Ingredients

For the 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 tablespoons)

  • 3 grams active dry yeast (1 teaspoon)

For preparing to bake:

  • 60 grams olive oil (1/4 cup)

  • 5 grams salt (1 teaspoon)

  • 60 grams water (1/4 cup)

Method

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:

Use a 13x9 metal baking pan or half size baking sheet, and pour a small amount of olive oil into the dish. Rub this to coat every surface to ensure there is nowhere the focaccia can stick. I use the USA Pan Silicone Lined Baking Pan to ensure it’s nonstick.

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 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

Make the salt brine by mixing the remaining salt and water together in a bowl.

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.

Optionally, add toppings such as tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, herbs, or whatever you like at this stage.

Pour the salt brine on top of the dough, doing your best to distribute it evenly.

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.

Serve warm on its own. Slice and grill to serve as a side dish. Eat with hummus. Make sandwiches. You can even use it as a base for pizza.

Focaccia forever.

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