Sourdough Foccacia Bread

Sourdough Foccacia Bread

Sourdough Foccacia

I had a really healthy sourdough starter going.  It was bubbling so beautifully, and I had plenty of it.   I decided to make a sourdough Foccacia bread.  Now, with most new bread baking adventures, I turned to my books first.  I had plenty of options.  However, they were all yeasted foccacia breads and I really wanted to use my healthy, bubbling sourdough starter. So, my next resource was Google.  Of course, I found a few compelling sourdough Foccacia options, but they were all one-day bakes. 

If I have learned anything at all from baking with natural yeast, it's that the best flavors come from cold, overnight proofs.  So I modified two different recipes to create this one.    This recipe produces a moist, flaky and tender foccacia bread.   


Sponge:

• 1-1/2 cups sourdough starter (starter fed the day before)
  
• 1 cup warm water
  
• ¼ cup olive oil
  
• 1 tablespoon honey
  
• 1 cup King Arthur Flour (KAF) Perfect Pizza flour
  

Final Dough

• ½ cup olive oil
  
• 4 cups KAF Perfect Pizza flour
  
• 2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  

Method

1.    Create the sponge and let it rest until it begins to really bubble (approx. 1-3 hours)

2.    Combine ingredients together and mix on slow speed with a dough hook until it forms a ball and you get a gluten widow. Depending on the hydration of your starter, you may end up adding ¼ – 1 cup more of flour while kneading. The dough will be soft and slightly moist from the oil and the kneading.

3.    Form into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Once dough has risen, place dough into a ½ sheet pan and begin to dimple until it reaches its elasticity point.  Then cover with plastic wrap and stick it into the fridge overnight.

4.    Take the dough out at least 4 hours hours before you plan to bake it and coat with Herb oil (optional).  When the chill is gone, use your fingers to press dough into the bottom of the pan until it fills the pan. If your dough is very elastic and pulling away, allow it to rest for about five minutes and then continue.

5.    Cover with a kitchen towel and allow it to rise until roughly doubled in size, about an hour.

6.    Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

7.    Once dough is ready, lightly dock dough with your fingers all over, leaving little impressions. If the dough is a little dry on top, brush on a bit more extra virgin olive oil and then sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

8.    Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow it to cool in its pan on a rack.

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