I jumped into the bread train almost 5 years ago. At first, I was almost into breads using pans and yeast. I was 100% scared of sourdough. What is it? How do you keep it alive? What if it dies? How do you make bread? I had over a million questions that were so hard to answer, and most of all I had the perception that it was hard… not doable, not for me only for real bakers.

After two fail attempts of creating a mother dough or starter whatever you would like to call it, I inherited from my sister-in-law a son of her starter. I named it Wendell (she lives there). Wendell lives happily in my counter. I feed him 3-4 times a week if I am planning to bake, if no baking is in my schedule, I just skip it.

I will encourage to start your starter! Or, if you want, message me (info@laromibakery.com) and I’ll be happy to share it with you. At this point Wendell has 2 sons 🙂

I always thought of focaccia as this fancy bread… maybe its the name, maybe just an image I had in mind. Well, after playing with multiple recipes and adjusting it to the right flavor and texture, I am happy to share my recipe. See the pictures below. Left to Right: ; after first fold; after second fold.

There are two ways to do it. The easy one, no kneading, simply mix all the ingredients on the bowl, let it proof, and bake. The more time consuming, requires some folding, but the texture of the bread is much much better; at least in my humble opinion. I challenge that you try it for yourself and let me know how it goes.

 

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Recipe 

Makes: 1 Pie
Prep Time: Active 30 mins, proofing 18 hours
Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

• 50 gr Starter or preferable levain
• 375 ml Water
• 20 gr Honey
• 500 gr All-purpose flour
• 9 gr Salt
• Optional toppings: rosemary, tomatoes cherry, onions, olives, garlic cloves, flaky salt, and anything and everything else you could think about.

Instructions:

1. Combine water, honey, and starter on a bowl using a fork. Add the flour and salt as you mix with the fork. When dough is combined and there are no rest of flour, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
2. During the next two hours you will fold and pinch the dough every 30 minutes. This process will add air to the dough and help with the development of the gluten. Cover and let the dough rest for 12-18 hours at room temperature.
3. When dough is ready oil a pan 14 × 9 inches (36 × 23 cm). Gently stretch the dough into a rectangular (it won’t reach the entire pan). Use your fingertips to stretch the dough, pressing straight through to the bottom of the pan. Coat the focaccia with oil, cover and let it rest for 1.5 – 2 hours, by this time it should be very fluffy. Repeating the process using the fingertips, make sure the dough covers the entire pan. If using any toppings this is the moment to add them.
4. Preheat the oven to 450F and cook for 20-30 minutes. It should be golden.

**Tip: I cook the focaccia, let it cool down, and then cut it into squares. If not using the same they, I will freeze it in the pan and cover it with a plastic paper. When ready to use, simply warm up the oven to 350F and warm for 15 minutes.