Focaccia

Based on Bread-on Earth “Fleshy Flat” / look to that recipe for the procedure. I have jiggled the Ingredients somewhat

Like that recipe, this one demands time, so figure this is a three day recipe: 

Day 1: make the dough/ ferment/ refrigerate

Day 2: Wait

Day 3: Proof and bake and eat and eat and eat

That 2020 baking madness took hold early in the Skenazy household. While Farnaz was perfecting her breads I went for focaccia in various forms, from various recipes. I tend to love the crisp thin versions but also go for the thicker forms, which are Farnaz’s favorites. So I started to tinker with various recipes and different size cookie sheets to see what ways I could manipulate this simplest of breads into something more complicated in taste and texture. The key here is the time in the refrigerator: it’s a totally forgiving recipe except the focaccia needs time to brood, fester, get annoyed, recover its heart after being tossed and turned in the bowl; in short, find its own way to maturity. And it’s good to keep it chilled so you don’t have to endure the whines while all that happens.

Ingredients

375g all purpose flour (preferably organic)

100g spelt

150g active rye sourdough (starter available upon request) 

325g water 

10g honey

15g olive oil

(you can drop the honey and olive oil depending on your taste; then add more water to equal this 25 g)

10g salt

75g water

Olive oil as needed throughout recipe

Step 1

Mix flour, starter, and first measurement of water. Cover bowl with a plastic bag and let rest for 10 – 20 minutes. 

Step 2

Add the salt and remaining water. Scrunch the dough between your fingers, breaking up the gluten strands and incorporating the new ingredients. Do this until there is no excess water left in the bottom of the bowl. The dough will look ugly and glutinous. Let sit again, covered, for 15 minutes.

Step 3

Pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil around the edges of the dough and scoop the dough up from the side with one hand, moving around the bowl—grab from the bottom, flip up to top, drop on top, and circle. Rotate the bowl so you do this about twice around. Pour another light tablespoon of olive oil on top and cover and rest again for 15 minutes. 

Step 4

Do this three more times over the course of 45 minutes. The dough should feel very wet but elastic and smooth, and should not tear when lightly pulled upwards. After all of your folds are complete, cover and let sit at room temperature for 3 – 4 hours.

Step 5

After this fermentation, put the dough in the refrigerator overnight, but preferably around 36 hours or more. 

Step 6

When ready to bake, line a heavy baking sheet with parchment and drizzle thoroughly with olive oil. Here is where you decide how thick you want the focaccia. I have been using a ¼ cookie sheet; ie, a very small cookie sheet. You can use a larger one. This will more or less, sort-of almost fill a full ½ cookie sheet; ie, the usual size. But then the focaccia will be very thin and very crisp. The goal here was to create a focaccia that has a bread-like crumb, though still thin (about an inch thick). 

Step 7

Procedure: Pour the dough onto the cookie sheet, keeping the smooth exterior as the top surface if possible. Gently press outwards with your fingertips, but do not pull or be rough with it. The tension will ease as it sits. Cover (I use another inverted sheet tray to do this). After 30 minutes, return to the dough and use greased hands to stretch the dough gently outwards. At this point it will fill the ¼ sheet pan. Or, if you are working with a half sheet, shape into a round, to the thickness you want. But if you are making this recipe, it doesn’t make sense to try to stretch the dough as you would the Ligurian focaccia. 

Step 8

Cover again and let proof for about two hours.

Step 9

30-40 minutes before you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Once dough is proofed, gently dimple with grease hands (if you don’t you’re likely to get one huge air bubble, which is also fine).

Step 10

Depending on what kind of crust you want, brine or not: water brine for crisp crust. I drizzle with olive oil and salt and perhaps a little rosemary.  

Step 11

Bake for 20 minutes, or until brown spots appear on the surface. The edges will feel firm, the middle not so firm. 

Step 12

Cool on a wire rack, just long enough to not burn yourself while eating.

Notes

You can also do this in the crockpot or oven. Crockpot: Save the papery outer layers from onions, or get them from the grocery store. Put onion papers in the crock, and put whole eggs in the shell in a single layer (may work with more than one layer if you have enough onion skins). Layer more onion papers between the eggs and on top of the eggs. Add water, filling the crock to ⅔ or more. Add a few glugs of olive oil. Cook on low for 4 – 10 hours. The eggs will be colored brown from shell to yolk and have a delicious taste. They're excellent plain or in egg salad, etc. Oven: Oven method: Preheat oven to 175°. Put everything into 2-quart ovenproof casserole. Cover tightly. Put casserole in oven and allow undisturbed cooking for at least 12 hours.