Focaccia is popular in Italy and is usually seasoned with olive oil and salt, and sometimes herbs, and may be topped with onion, cheese and meat, or flavored with a number of vegetables. It is eaten as a snack in Italy and school children will often purchase a slice from a baker's on the way to school, to enjoy at break time.
your dough before rest |
Your dough after 15 minutes (without salt) |
It should look like this.. sticky sooo sticky. |
After the first 30- minute rest |
The way you knead your dough |
Leave it for 30 minutes |
Your final result! |
See how PRETTY is it ?? see these airy pockets?? |
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated
(makes two 9-inch round loaves)
Biga
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (2 2/3 ounces) warm water .
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast . or 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast.
Dough
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) warm water .
1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast . Or 2 teaspoons active dry yeast.
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves.
Process
- The day before, combine biga ingredients in a large bowl and stir with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute. You should have a uniform mass with no dry flour.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for at least 8 hours (up to 24 hours).
- For the dough, stir flour, water, and yeast into the biga with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute. You should have a uniform mass with no dry flour.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 15 minutes.
- Add 2 teaspoons Kosher salt to dough and stir with wooden spoon about 1 minute.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 30 minutes.
- Spray rubber spatula with nonstick cooking spray.
- With rubber spatula, fold dough over itself 8 times as follows:
- lift an edge of dough with spatula and fold it towards the middle.
- turn bowl 90 degrees.
- repeat, repeat, repeat......until you've folded dough over 8 times.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 30 minutes.
- With rubber spatula, fold dough over itself 8 times as follows:
- lift an edge of dough with spatula and fold it towards the middle.turn bowl 90 degrees.repeat, repeat, repeat......until you've folded dough over 8times.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 30 minutes.
- With rubber spatula, fold dough over itself 8 times as follows:lift an edge of dough with spatula and fold it towards the middle.turn bowl 90 degrees.repeat, repeat, repeat... until you've folded dough over 8 times.
- Place oven rack in upper middle position. Place baking stone on rack and preheat oven to 500 F.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 30 minutes.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured surface (counter). BE GENTLE! Lightly dust top of dough with flour and divide in half.
- Shape each piece into a 5 inch round by GENTLY tucking under edges.
- Coat two 9 inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each.
- Sprinkle each pan with 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt.
- Place each round of dough in a pan, top side down. Slide dough around pan to coat with oil and then flip dough over.
- Cover pans with plastic wrap and let rise 5 minutes at room temperature.
- Press dough out towards edge of pan with your fingertips. If dough resists, let rest 5-10 minutes and try again.
- Grab a dinner fork and poke each dough 25-30 times. Make sure you pop any large bubbles.
- Sprinkle rosemary over top of dough.
- Let dough rest at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until slightly bubbly.
- Place pans on baking stone and immediately lower oven temperature to 450 F.
- Bake until top is golden brown 25-28 minutes. Switch pan placement on stone halfway through.
- Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack 5 minutes.
- Remove bread from pans and return to wire rack. If any oil remains in pan, brush that on loaves.
- Cool 30 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy !
1 comment:
Great chewy inside!! Great job achieving that in a residential electric oven! Is the dough really 84% hydration? How can you handle dough so wet so that it want stick to the pan and the counter?
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