Focaccia
A good focaccia takes time, but a lot of it is waiting. This forgiving no-knead recipe starts with an overnight pre-ferment, or biga, and requires a few hours of your time. But the smell and taste of fresh bread is truly unbeatable. I swear by Maldon sea salt and fresh rosemary, but I've also used this dough as the base for a Detroit-style pizza.
Ingredients (overnight pre-ferment):
170 grams bread flour
170 grams room-temperature water
3 grams instant dried yeast
Ingredients (bread):
515 grams bread flour
350 millilitres warm water
6 grams instant dried yeast
30 millilitres olive oil
10 grams flaky sea salt
Method:
For the overnight pre-ferment, combine the bread flour, water, and yeast (measurements from the overnight pre-ferment ingredients) and mix by hand or with a wooden spoon until just combined -- you just want to hydrate the flour, no kneading or stand mixing needed.
Leave in a warm (20-25 degrees C) place for 12 hours.
When you come to take it out, it should have lots of small bubbles and be much larger.
Bloom the yeast in the warm water (just stir and leave for a few minutes).
In the bowl of a stand-mixer, add the flour, olive oil, salt, and all of the pre-ferment and mix to combine.
Again, no kneading necessary here, just fully hydrate the flour and ensure there aren't any dry lumps.
Once combined, cover with a damp tea-towel and prove in the same warm place as the pre-ferment for at least 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the warm place and set it in front of you.
It's time to begin the first of four stretch-and-folds.
With a damp hand, pick up the north edge of the dough.
Wiggle it in the air to stretch the dough, but don't break it.
Drag it to the south edge of the dough and drop it.
You should have, in effect, taken the topmost bit of dough, stretched it (now, brace yourself) and then folded it.
Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat this three times, so that each of the cardinal dough-rections have been stretched and folded over each other.
This is a low-maintenance, slow process for strong gluten development, and it's totally worth it.
You will need to repeat this whole stretch and fold manouevre three or four times, so put this back in your proving location, wait half an hour, repeat.
Each time you do this, your dough should be more voluminous, stretchier, and glossier.
After your fourth stretch and fold, oil and line a large, deep, rectangular pan (mine is 35cm x 24cm x 5cm).
With damp hands, lift the whole mass of dough out of the bowl and drop it into the pan, trying to match the rectangular shape.
Smooth the corners of the dough out to the edges of the pan as much as possible, then cover with a damp towel and allow to rise.
After about an hour, your dough should have expanded to the edges of the tray (you can coax it further with oiled hands if needed.
Drizzle a healthy (read: unhealthy) glug of olive oil onto the top of the dough, and get ready for dimpling.
Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan-assisted).
With slightly oiled hands, use your fingertips to press the dough as far down into the pan as possible.
You want to generate a lot of pockets of air, and while doing so, many bubbles of varying sizes should appear.
Don't pop these, they bake super well and are key to a good focaccia.
Top with more maldon flaky salt, and any other toppings (red onion, olive, rosemary or other herbs).
If you're using fresh herb leaves, rub them with oil so they don't burn, or add them after baking.
Bake for approx 25 mins or until a skewer/cake tester comes out clean and the top is a dark golden-brown.
