Sourdough foccacia

Foccacia is an Italian flat bread. At one time, I was baking this almost every day just so that my daughter could try out her focaccia art designs.  

Sourdough (ripe) - 170g
Water, lukewarm - 170g
All-purpose flour - 360g
Olive oil - 37g + extra for pan and for top of focaccia
Salt - 1/2 Tbsp

Dried oregano
Dried rosemary
Olives
Pink rock salt


Method :

In a large bowl, mix starter and water. Add flour, salt and oil. Mix. Knead by hand for 12 to 15 minutes (by folding it like a letter, then moving it clockwise, folding again), until dough is smooth.

Coat the dough with oil. Place in a bowl. Cover with kitchen towel. Let it rise for an hour.

Gently fold dough over 4 or 5 times (by folding it like a letter, then moving it clockwise, folding again). Let it rise for 1 hour.

In the baking pan, place a baking sheet. Rub oil on it. Place dough in it and turn it over to coat with oil. Gently stretch the edges of the dough so that it reaches the corners. Cover with towel. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Gently stretch the dough again so that it stretches to all the sides and corners of the pan. Cover pan. Place in fridge for 16 to 19 hours.

Next day, transfer pan from fridge to counter. Leave it aside for 1 hour to come to room temperature.

Dip a finger in oil and gently dimple the dough, by pressing down firmly and releasing slowly. Add some oil into these dimples.

Add the toppings.

Preheat oven to 220C. Bake for 30 minutes. After 10 minutes,  place top pan on the bottom, and the bottom pan on top. In the 15th minute, tent with aluminium foil. Bake until golden brown.

Remove from oven. Leave to cool in pan for 15 minutes. Then turn out onto rack.

Recipe ref : KAF (https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-focaccia-recipe)

Focaccia art by my daughter