Bounded by Buns focaccia
One 9 x 13-inch focaccia
15 minutes
25 minutes
2 hours and 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 450 grams all-purpose flour (3 3/4 cups)
- 337 grams water (1.5 cups)
- 6 grams instant yeast (2 teaspoons)
- 24 grams olive oil (2 tablespoons)
- 9 grams salt (1 1/2 teaspoons)
- More olive oil and non-stick spray for the pan
- seasonings like parmesan cheese, basil, thyme or sage (optional)
Related blog post: Chicken parmesan is grate!
Directions:
Spray cooking spray into a 9 x 13-inch pan and then add and spread 2 tablespoons of olive oil around the pan.
Weigh and add all ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer or another large bowl.
Mix the ingredients in the stand mixer on medium for about 5 minutes or you can do this in a bowl with a spoon until there are no dry spots from the flour. This will not be a smooth dough; it will be wet and sticky. If you are stirring with a spoon, it will take about 10 minutes and will be a bit messy.
Scrape the dough into the 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and olive oil added. Dunk the tips of your fingers into the oil in the pan and use them to spread the dough out a little. Don't worry about getting it into the corners yet.
Rest in a warm place for 45 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap or an inverted sheet pan that covers the whole 9 x 13 pan.
After 45 minutes, wet your fingers in a bowl of water and fold the dough over on top of itself a couple of times. This will be sticky and perhaps messy. But folding it once or twice will help the structure of the final dough. This fold is most easily accomplished by grabbing the edges of one of the short sides of the pan and folding it over onto itself.
Using water on the tips of your fingers as often as needed, attempt to get the folded dough into the shape of your pan. Push it around and get it as close to the corners as you can. It will stretch out more during the final resting phase, but making sure it's close to filling out the pan will help here.
Allow the dough to rest again for another 45 minutes, covered by plastic wrap or a sheet pan on top of the 9 x 13-inch pan.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (233 C).
Dimple the top of the focaccia gently with your fingers. Try not to deflate the dough too much during this process. The yeast has worked hard to create the airy bubbles and create lift, be gentle.
Once you have dimpled the top of the focaccia, drizzle it lightly with olive oil. At this point, you can season the top by sprinkling it with salt and herbs. I prefer to sprinkle flaky salt, ground black pepper and maybe a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese. But you can add fresh basil, thyme or even sage if you want. A blend of Italian spices would also work well.
Add the pan to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the top is brown and slightly darkened. I like to rotate the pan 180 degrees halfway for consistency of browning.