A Deliciously Remastered Foccacia Recipe
- Piece of Cake Staff
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Written by Shawn Krajewski
It has been a year since I started writing for Piece Of Cake, with my first article being a quick and easy focaccia recipe. And although that recipe still holds up, I have developed it, improved it, and have a deeper understanding of how bread making works. That's why this recipe is no longer what it once was (i.e., wholly my father's), but instead it is something that I have made my own.
Full Recipe:
Equipment:
Large bowl
A liquid container that can hold two cups
A quarter sheet pan
A scale
A spatula
A Towel
Ingredients:
400g lukewarm water
8g yeast (I typically use dry instant variants)
512g AP or bread flour + a little extra
25g salt + a little extra
20g olive oil + a little extra
Step 1: Prepare
First, grab all of your equipment, then start with the water and yeast. Place the glass on the scale and measure out the necessary water and yeast. You don't have to be super precise, but still monitor your measurements. I recommend filling a separate fluid container and slowly pouring it into the one on the scale. This method makes the process more accurate and ensures you don't risk the scale falling into the sink. The reason why you put the water and yeast into the cup first and not the bowl is so the yeast can properly come alive and hydrate before we give it its food. At the end of the day, making bread is just feeding yeast and cooking it alive, almost like inviting a vampire in for supper, then opening all the blinds.
Next, add the flour and salt to the large bowl and the olive oil to the water-yeast solution. This process is called separating your drys and wets. It's an important step for a good number of recipes due to the fact that it makes it easier to mix the ingredients. Plus, it makes it so you have a more even blend of the ingredients because liquids are far easier to mix with other liquids, and the same goes for powdery solids. However, when you have to mix them, it's far harder to get an even blend.
Step 2: Mixing
Mix the flour and salt so that there is an even dispersion. But what do you mix it with? Well, you can use your hands. Use one of your hands to mix and the other for stabilization. While mixing the drys, make a mound in the center and pour half of the wets around it. Partially mix it before you make a well in the middle and pour in the rest of the wet ingredients. Now take your dough-covered hand and start grabbing, swirling, and doing any other mixing motions. What I like doing is creating a spike-like shape with my hand and doing a clockwise motion while scraping loose flour on the sides into the mass of dough.
By the end, the dough should look like a beige sticky paste, and your hand should be covered in it. To make sure as little dough goes to waste, use your clean hand to take your spatula and scrape off any residual dough from your other hand into the bowl. Afterwards, clean both hands with cold water. If you clean them with hot water, the dough will cook, and this will clog the pipes of your sink with sticky bread. And trust me, as someone who caused severe pipe damage to a school with a cooking class, please wash your hands with cold water! I want to avoid this from happening again.
Step 3: Knead
Clean off your countertop with a wet towel and cover it in a light coating of flour. Take your dough and, using a spatula, scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto the flour. Now you want to knead. Kneading is the process of folding the dough until it has a light coating of flour. You complete this task by, well, folding the dough. I like folding the dough in half, pressing it down, flipping, repeating a couple of times, and ending by taking the four corners of the dough, folding them into the middle of the dough, and flipping it upside down. This technique will result in a ball of smooth-looking dough that is ready for the future!
Step 4: Rise
Take your large bowl (yes, the same one you mixed in), add a dollop of olive oil, and put the now-kneaded dough inside. Flip it over twice so it's covered in olive oil. Next, place a towel over the bowl. Make sure the towel is completely covering the bowl while also not touching the dough. Now it's time to let it rise. There are two ways to do this. There's my dad's technique and my technique. There's no real downside to either one, just preferred versions. My dad's technique is to fold it every 30 minutes for an hour and a half. However, my technique is to fold it every hour and a half for 3 hours.
When you're done folding, take out your sheet pan and drizzle a small amount of olive oil in the center. Make sure to spread it just enough so it covers the entire pan. Place your dough within the pan (make sure it's taking up the whole space, and don't be afraid to form it into the shape). Then, cover it with a towel. This time, it doesn't matter if the towel is touching. Once the dough is covered in the pan, place it into the fridge and let it rest overnight.
Step 5: Cook
So now, it's the next day, and I know you have a hankering for some bread. Grab the dough from the fridge, remove the towel, and turn on the oven. Set the oven to 425 degrees, and while it's preheating, complete the dough. Using your hands, create little divots in the dough. Rub a thin layer of olive oil on top, and then sprinkle a little salt. Still in the pan, place the dough into the oven for 25-40 minutes. Make sure you check on it every ten minutes so it doesn't burn. Once the time is up, you can finally say that you've successfully baked some fantastic focaccia. Enjoy!
Thumbnail Credit:
Comments