Focaccia
Cakes, Bakes & Bread
Makes 1 38cm Roasting Tray (Feeds approx 12)
Cook Time: 45 mins, plus 2 days proving
Difficulty: Easy
In my opinion, focaccia is the best bread in the world! There, I said it!
I want to share with you my pretty fool proof recipe - I don’t hide ingredients or techniques - this is the recipe I use for all my bookings!
I’d also love to point out that I do not consider myself a proficient baker at all - this is about as good as it gets with my bread. So if I can achieve this - believe me, so can you!!!
Rich, salty, bubbly, light, bouncy, oily, its the perfect sponge to mop with - it’s got it all, everything you want from some bread!
It’s also super versatile and you can switch up flavours and toppings as you like!
In terms of flour, you can use a good quality, strong white bread flour or it works with a pasta ‘00’ flour. What I do is actually a mix of the 2! I have also made this recipe with organic ancient grains and flours and it works! You’ll find due to the more wholegrain/nutty nature of the ancient grains, it will go a little stickier and won’t quite get those big bubbles the same as the white flours!
This is like the plain basic dough that I make. I call it basic, because its the starting point in terms of its flavour. You can add different toppings, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, herbs, beetroot - absolutely whatever you want!
The best bread is proved slowly and so in my opinion, that’s the way to go! It just takes a little bit of planning but is totally worth it! If you want to cut time, make the poolish on day 2 in the morning, leave it for 3-4 hours, then make the dough as below, prove overnight and bake day 3 AM. If you really want to speed things up, dont make the poolish, just add all the ingredients to the dough recipe, mix well. Then knead like a classic bread dough (this is wet and sticky so a stretch and fold method of kneading is recommended), before proving in a bowl until doubled in size, then transfer to a tin as below - this will make nice bread but it wont have the wow factor of the whole method!
The Poolish is like a pre-ferment mix. It helps activate the yeast and gets the whole process kick starting. Making a poolish really elevates the dough and the final product - well worth it!
The dough on this one is quite sticky, so can be hard to handle - my tip is to use wet hands. Lightly wet your hands under the tap or dip them lightly in a bowl of water - like magic, the dough doesn’t stick!!!! Also have a dough scraper to hand - really makes things easier, or a spatula/fish slice if you don’t have one to hand!
This recipe is made in stages across a few days - while it seems and sounds like a lot of work, most of that time is literally leaving the dough to rest and do its thing so actual work wise, there really isn’t anything to it!
INGREDIENTS:
For the Poolish:
200g Strong White Bread or Pasta ‘00’ Flour or a mix of the two
200g Luke Warm Water
7g Dried Yeast
For The Dough:
425g Strong White Bread or Pasta ‘00’ Flour or a mix of the two
255g Luke Warm Water
45g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
15g Salt
10g Sugar or Honey
For The Topping:
25-30g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sprinkle of cold water
Generous Pinch Sea Salt
METHOD (Longer Prove, Better Results) - Aim to bake on Day 3:
DAY 1 - PM (around 7-8pm) - Make The Poolish:
Make the Poolish - mix the flour, water and yeast together in a large mixing bowl and mix really well - beat the mix until smooth, like a thick milkshake!
Leave the bowl, loosely covered with a tea towel or some cling film and leave on the counter or overnight.
The following morning, the Poolish should be doubled in size, airy and bubbly
DAY 2 - AM (around 9-10am) - Make The Dough:
Add the dough water and oil to the Poolish and mix well
Add the flour, salt and sugar/honey and mix to incorporate
The dough will be sticky so use your finger tips or use a spoon to mix well Make sure there aren’t any lumps and all the flour is completely mixed in
Loosely cover the bowl and leave the dough to ‘autolyse’ for approx 1 hour
After one hour, the dough should be starting to look quite stretchy and smoother
You are now going to start folding the dough
1st Fold - Slightly wet your hands, with both hands pick up the dough on the furthest side of the bowl, lift and fold towards yourself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat again
Loosely cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the dough for 30 minutes
2nd Fold - slightly wet your hands, repeat the first folds. This time, the dough will seem slightly tougher - the gluten is strengthening
Loosely cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the dough for 30 minutes
3rd Fold - slightly wet your hands, lift the centre of the dough up, so it folds on itself and place it down on one side so the fold is now in the centre of the dough, parallel to the bottom of the bowl. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat
Loosely cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the dough for 30 minutes
4th Fold - this one isn’t really a fold - this is more of a reshaping exercise. Wet your hands again, cup the dough and tuck it under itself on all sides to form a smooth ball
Cover the bowl well - with cling film or a tight fitting lid. The dough is going to proof and over double in size - make sure the bowl is big enough. If not, find a container large enough, lightly oil it and transfer the dough before covering
Place the bowl or container in the fridge and leave the proof overnight
DAY 3 AM (9-10am) - Baking The Dough
Take the dough out of the fridge and leave it on the counter for 30 minutes to warm slightly - it should be nice and stretchy now!
Line a straight/vertical walled roasting tin with baking paper and drizzle over a small amount of oil
Wet or oil your hands, carefully lift the dough out of the container and place, fold sides down into the tin - you want the top of the dough to remain smooth.
Wet your hands again and press the dough flat the cover the base of the baking tray
Leave to proof for a further 1 hour - you will start to see all those amazing bubbles on the top starting to form
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 220C - it needs to be hot
After the 1 hour proofing in the tin, drizzle over the topping oil and sprinkle over the salt
Wet your fingers and dimple the dough all over - this should give the focaccia that synonymous dimpled look, help press the oil into the dough and also redistribute some of the bubbles - so you should start to see some slightly bigger bubbles appearing
Leave for a further 20 minutes to rest
Sprinkle over a small amount of cold water with your fingers
Place the tray in the hottest part of the oven and bake for 15 minutes
After 15 minutes, open the door, check the bread, it may need turning if your oven is not cooking evenly, then turn the temp down to 180C and bake for a further 15 minutes
Remove the bread when it is beautifully golden all over and leave the dough in the tin for 25-30 minutes before removing from the tin and letting it cool on a cooling rack
The best bread is left to go cold before slicing - if you want to enjoy it warm, just simply reheat it in a warm but not hot oven just before serving
