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I started making this Focaccia recipe over the summer for purely logistical reasons. The timing of the dough was simple and allowed me to be gone all day. It bakes in just 15-20 minutes. Sparing my house from the heat of the oven. Six months later, in the deep of a Montana winter, this is still the loaf I bake most often.
When I was first experimenting with this dough, I forgot about it on the counter all day and found it just before I was heading to bed. It had been in the bulk fermentation stage for a solid 12 hours. Panicked, thinking I had over-fermented it, I shaped the dough quickly and threw it in the fridge. The next morning it had spread out in its pan. I stuck it in the oven, still unsure whether it was ruined. To my surprise, it puffed up beautifully and made an absolutely delicious loaf despite my near-total neglect.
This loaf is light, and airy, with an open crumb and a crust that is toasty and soft to bite through. This dough is endlessly versatile. In the summer, I topped it with a layer of thinly sliced tomato and zucchini from the garden before baking it. In the winter, I sprinkle it with a little Maldon Flake Sea Salt. I slice it horizontally for the best sandwiches. I love the ratios of crust to crumb and bread to sandwich filling. I use this same dough for pizza, cutting one batch into quarters, balling it up, and stretching it out thin.
This dough is easy to work into your schedule. I start this dough in the morning. In the evening when I get home from work, I shape it, put it in an oiled pan, cover it and refrigerate it. Then I bake it the next morning. All said and done, it’s about 5-10 minutes of active time, 15-20 minutes of cook time, and 24 hours of passive time. I always make a double batch as this dough lasts 3-4 days on the counter.
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Easy Sourdough Focaccia
- Prep Time: 24 hours / 10 minutes active time
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Sourdough
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
420 grams water
80 grams active sourdough starter
300 grams high protein bread flour
200 grams wheat flour ( I’ve been use Wheat Montana Prairie Gold that I buy in 50lb bags)
10 grams salt
Olive oil
Instructions
In a large bowl combine the water and starter. Stir together so the water turns a milky color.
Add the flours and sprinkle the salt on top of the flour. Stir everything together first with a wooden spoon and then with your hands. The dough will be pretty wet. Cover the tough and leave at room temperature for 8-10 hours for bulk fermentation. If you have the time, give the dough a couple of turns in the first hour or two. If you don’t have the time, no worries, it will still make a great loaf.
After bulk fermentation, turn the dough out on a floured surface. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
Oil a 9×13” pan. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the pan. Rub the surface with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8-12 hours.
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 500 F.
Stretch the dough as needed to reach the corners of the pan. Use your fingertips to press down on the surface to help stretch the dough and leave little divots all over the surface. Sprinkle the dough with flake sea salt (I use Maldon).
Bake for 15-20 minutes. When it’s done, it will have pulled away from the sides of the pan. Remove it from oven. As soon as it is cool enough to work with, remove it from the pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.
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