by A.J. Coltrane
A two-hour focaccia:
I feel like this may have been the best “quick” focaccia yet.
The Tweaks:
- 3% olive oil in the dough. That’s lower than in oil than most of the focaccias I’ve made in the past. The crumb was lighter than in past attempts, and the bread got a lot more “lift”.
- The dough was allowed to rest for 30 minutes before it was moved to the pan. I think this also improved the finished crumb structure.
- A 450F oven. (Rather than 425F.) The crust came out quite a bit browner and crisper as a result.
It made a terrific dinner with a bit of cheese and SeattleAuthor’s charcuterie:
The formula: 400 grams Bread Flour, 280 grams room-temperature water (70% hydration), 12 grams olive oil (3%), 9 grams kosher salt (2.25%), 1 teaspoon instant yeast.
- Combine ingredients in the mixer and mix on low speed for 10 minutes.
- Lightly coat the dough and bowl with oil, cover, and let rest 30 minutes.
- Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment. Lightly oil the parchment.
- Transfer the dough to the oiled parchment, pulling it gently to the edges of the pan.
- Cover and let rise ~1.5 hours.
- Drizzle the top with olive oil. I used a rosemary-oregano olive oil that we received as a holiday gift.
- Oil your fingers and dimple the top.
- Bake 22 minutes at 450F. Remove to a cooling rack when done.
For comparison, here’s a 100% hydration, 6% olive oil focaccia from 2014. It couldn’t be dimpled because it was already collapsing under its own weight. It was baked at 425F and even with the higher oil content it was a lot lighter in color. Here’s another that was baked at 425F. And another. None of them are all that brown.
FlatbreadGarden 