Foccacia is one of those breads that is very much en vogue recently with a certain Netflix documentary being popular. There are recipes for Quick Foccacia. There are recipes for No Knead Foccacia. There are recipes for Authentic Foccacia. This recipe is unlike all of the aforementioned. Anyway, bread that's ready after only an hour of prep or that hasn't been kneaded seems dubious, at best.
If baking bread had a motto it would be "Take your time. Don't take shortcuts." That applies regardless if it's a full pounder sourdough boule or a small batch of little makeshift flatbreads. Give yeast and the autolyse process some time to work its magic and you'll be rewarded.
So today, we're going to throw all that sage wisdom out the window. Bread doesn't necessarily have to be an all day affair with a schedule that would make any logistics person a happy individual. I've developed this recipe that's easily doable in the evening after you come home from work or school, if you plan to use it the next day. Or to sneak chunks off it at 11PM. Either one. Foccacia are generally very wet doughs, baked from leftover high hydration dough as a flatbread - some upwards of 70-75% hydration. My version opts for a slightly lower amount of water (67% hydration) to aid in the work-ability of the dough in the stand mixer Shopping List:
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Hardware:
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Prep:
Combine your flour, salt, and yeast (remember: keep the salt and yeast separate physically) in the bowl of your stand mixer, with the dough hook attached.
Conventional wisdom would tell you to bloom the yeast in the warm water, but we're forgoing that step for this recipe. You've got a healthy amount of time fermenting and proofing that the initial bloom doesn't do much for you.
Start the mixer on a low speed and slowly start to add the water (should be a somewhat slow and steady stream of water - if you dump all the water in at once, the dough won't hydrate well and will just slop around the bowl). Once it starts to come together, you can start mixing it on a medium-ish speed. Scrape down the sides if necessary, and just be patient until the flour is all together.
Go find something to do for 10-15 minutes. Don't come back until the side of the bowl is clean and you've kneaded enough gluten development into your dough ball. Turn out onto a barely floured surface and form into a ball. Nothing too fancy, just make sure it's a uniform mass.
Transfer to a clean, lightly oiled bowl to begin bulk fermentation, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Depending on how much time you have, you COULD ferment up to 8 hours, but that goes against the spirit of the recipe, so go with 60 minutes - it should double in size in this time frame. Try to find a warm place. I've said this in other recipes, but a cold oven with the light on is nearly perfect fermentation temperature.
Once you've completed bulk fermentation, VERY LIBERALLY coat the baking tray with your reserve olive oil and dump the mass of proofed dough onto it. Start working it with your hands to stretch it out flat. Depending on the size of the pan, you might not get it all the way to the edges, and that's fine, just keep at it. Firmly punch your fingers into the top of the dough to give that signature pock-marked look of a foccacia. Again, liberally oil the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap. NOTE: you can also do this in a large (12"+ cast iron skillet) - it'll obviously just be round instead of reminiscent of a rectangle. Either way, allow this to prove for another 2 hours. By now your dough should be touching the plastic wrap and JUST coming up over the lip of the pan - while also retaining most of the hole-punchy texture you so painstakingly put in. If not, take another stab (GET IT) at some more pock-marking with your fingers, and drizzle more olive oil on top. Liberally sprinkle with fancy flaky sea salt (or be a plebian like me and just use kosher salt).
Preheat your oven to 425 deg F.
Allow this to semi-proof (on top of the stove since your oven is preheating) while the oven is preheating, until it has poked above the lip of your baking tray if you had to poke more holes.
The Business:
Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the bottom is a deep golden color, browned from the olive oil. The top should just be blistering as well.
Evacuate to a cooling rack so the bottom doesn't sog out. Cool, slightly. Then devour.
Congratulations, you've now made fauxcaccia.
Combine your flour, salt, and yeast (remember: keep the salt and yeast separate physically) in the bowl of your stand mixer, with the dough hook attached.
Conventional wisdom would tell you to bloom the yeast in the warm water, but we're forgoing that step for this recipe. You've got a healthy amount of time fermenting and proofing that the initial bloom doesn't do much for you.
Start the mixer on a low speed and slowly start to add the water (should be a somewhat slow and steady stream of water - if you dump all the water in at once, the dough won't hydrate well and will just slop around the bowl). Once it starts to come together, you can start mixing it on a medium-ish speed. Scrape down the sides if necessary, and just be patient until the flour is all together.
Go find something to do for 10-15 minutes. Don't come back until the side of the bowl is clean and you've kneaded enough gluten development into your dough ball. Turn out onto a barely floured surface and form into a ball. Nothing too fancy, just make sure it's a uniform mass.
Transfer to a clean, lightly oiled bowl to begin bulk fermentation, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Depending on how much time you have, you COULD ferment up to 8 hours, but that goes against the spirit of the recipe, so go with 60 minutes - it should double in size in this time frame. Try to find a warm place. I've said this in other recipes, but a cold oven with the light on is nearly perfect fermentation temperature.
Once you've completed bulk fermentation, VERY LIBERALLY coat the baking tray with your reserve olive oil and dump the mass of proofed dough onto it. Start working it with your hands to stretch it out flat. Depending on the size of the pan, you might not get it all the way to the edges, and that's fine, just keep at it. Firmly punch your fingers into the top of the dough to give that signature pock-marked look of a foccacia. Again, liberally oil the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap. NOTE: you can also do this in a large (12"+ cast iron skillet) - it'll obviously just be round instead of reminiscent of a rectangle. Either way, allow this to prove for another 2 hours. By now your dough should be touching the plastic wrap and JUST coming up over the lip of the pan - while also retaining most of the hole-punchy texture you so painstakingly put in. If not, take another stab (GET IT) at some more pock-marking with your fingers, and drizzle more olive oil on top. Liberally sprinkle with fancy flaky sea salt (or be a plebian like me and just use kosher salt).
Preheat your oven to 425 deg F.
Allow this to semi-proof (on top of the stove since your oven is preheating) while the oven is preheating, until it has poked above the lip of your baking tray if you had to poke more holes.
The Business:
Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until the bottom is a deep golden color, browned from the olive oil. The top should just be blistering as well.
Evacuate to a cooling rack so the bottom doesn't sog out. Cool, slightly. Then devour.
Congratulations, you've now made fauxcaccia.