Same Day Focaccia
This same day focaccia is soft, fluffy & has a well developed flavour, without needing a cold prove. All you need to make this is 5 ingredients & a couple of hours!
Servings: 8 Portions
Equipment
- 9" x 13" Tin
- Stand Mixer
- Digital Food Probe
- Dough Scraper
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 550 g Strong White Bread Flour See Notes
- 480 g Water @25°c/77°f
- 6 g Fast Action/Instant Yeast
- 12 g Fine Sea Salt Plus Extra For Topping The Dough
- 20 g Olive Oil Plus Extra For Topping The Dough
Instructions
- Place the flour & water into the bowl of a stand mixer then mix until just combined. Cover & leave to autolyse for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the dough then using a dough hook, mix to incorporate. This will take 1-2 minutes on a medium speed.
- Next, add in the salt & olive oil then continue mixing on a medium speed until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. This will take at least 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled mixing bowl & leave at room temperature for 1 hour. During this hour, coil fold the dough every 15 minutes.This dough has a high level of hydration (around 90%) so will seem quite sticky. Don't worry, this is normal! The dough will become easier to work with as we fold it.
- Whilst the dough is proving, line a 9”x13” baking tin with baking paper then pour 1 tbsp of olive oil into the bottom of the tin.
- Once the dough has proved for an hour, give it one last set of coil folds then transfer it into the lined tin. Cover loosely with clingfilm then leave to prove at room temperature for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size.
- In the meantime, preheat an oven to 220°c/200°c fan (428°f/392°f).
- When the dough has risen, drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil over the top then use your fingers to dimple the dough all over. Sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt over the focaccia then bake for 25-30 minutes, until the bread is a deep, golden brown.
- Once baked, let the bread cool in the tin for 30 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack & leave to cool completely.
Notes
1. To Bake In An Aga - Bake the focaccia on a grid shelf placed on the floor of the roasting oven.
2. Flour - Make sure to use a strong white bread flour with a protein content of at least 13%. I use a Canadian bread flour from Shipton Mill (in the UK).
3. Yeast - This recipe works best with instant yeast as it won't need activating first & tends to prove quicker.
4. Coil Folds - This is a technique used to develop gluten as the dough proves. There's a full step by step guide on how to perform this type of fold in the post above.
5. Toppings - This focaccia recipe makes a great base for all sorts of toppings so feel free to top the bread with whatever you like!
6. Hydration -This dough has a high level of hydration which means that it will seem very sticky. This is normal & the dough will get easier to work with as it is kneaded/folded. I recommend using a stand mixer to mix the dough
7. Tin - The tin I use to cook the bread in, is a 9”x13” Nordic Ware tin. Any tin of this size will work but it’s best to use one that is at least 2.5” deep.