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Today's bake consists of two separate and distinct phases.

Phase #1 - The Mozzarella

Phase #2 The bake

Phase one is fresh mozzarella. This formula is 80% the ingredients going in. The other 20% boils down to (pun unintended) experience pulling/shaping the balls. My end game needs practice. Very pleased with my first crack at this!

We’re finally getting to visit our closest friends who we haven’t seen since last summer.  So we’re bringing pie and bread, of course!  I decided on trying my recipe for 50% WW 25% butter SD brioche again because it is a little bit sinful with the butter and yet has a good amount of whole wheat.  My friends prefer a soft bread so this should be perfect. 

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Levain

Mix the levain ingredients in a jar or pyrex container with space for at least 300% growth. 

Press down with your knuckles to create a uniform surface and to push out air.

At a temperature of 78ºF, it typically takes up to 10-12 hours for this sweet stiff levain to be at peak.

Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk, eggs, salt, sugar and levain.  Mix and then break up the levain into smaller pieces.  Next add the flours.  Mix on low speed until there is no dry flour remaining.  Once incorporated increase the speed gradually to medium.  Mix at medium until the gluten is moderately developed.  With the mixer running add the room temperature butter one pat at a time until it is fully incorporated, waiting until each pat is well incorporated before adding the next.  Continue to mix until you can  pull a good windowpane, not quite as good as a white flour because the bran will interrupt the windowpane somewhat.

Shape the dough into a tight ball, cover in the bowl and ferment for 3-4 hours at 82ºF.  There should be some rise visible at this stage.

You can next place the dough into the fridge to chill the dough for about 1.5 hours, this makes rolling the dough easier, remember if you do so the final proof will take longer.  Alternatively, you can do a cold retard in the fridge overnight.

Prepare your pans by greasing them with butter or line with parchment paper.
Scrape the dough out onto a clean counter top. Lightly flour the bench. Transfer the dough onto the bench and divide it into four. Shape each into a roll, allow to rest 5 mins.  Next like a baguette, shape each roll into a long log with tapered ends.  Next do a 4 strand plait.  Tuck the ends underneath and transfer into the prepared pan.

Cover and let proof for 6-8 hours, longer time if you chilled your dough for shaping. I proof until the top of the dough comes to within 1 cm of the top edge of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350F and brush the dough with the egg-milk wash (1 egg with 1 tsp of milk and pinch of salt).  Just prior to baking brush with the egg-milk wash again.

Bake the loaves for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 190ºF, rotating as needed to get even browning. Shield your loaf if it gets brown early in the baking process. After 35-40 mins remove the bread from the pan and bake a further 10 mins by placing the loaf directly in the oven on the rack with the oven turned down to 325ºF. You can brush the top of the loaf with butter if you wish at this point while the bread is still hot to keep the top crust soft.

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My index of bakes.

I had almost enough T65 flour for one last try.  

Starter was refreshed on Tuesday. I meant to feed it before going to bed but forgot! Wednesday morning I gave it 1:3:3 feed hoping to mix mid afternoon. It was cold that day and things slowed.  As I had to go out about 5 pm I put it in the fridge until yesterday morning. Pulled it out first thing and left it to warm up.   Baguettes were the 2nd dough to be mixed so it was late morning before I was ready.

10:45 am Autolyse - Mixed flour and water and left for 45 mins. I had to add a small amount of bread flour as I was short of T65 flour by. 20 g

11:30 am Added starter and yeast and mixed on low for 4 minutes, added salt and mixed for about another 2 minutes.  I tipped dough out onto bench and gave it 20 SLAFs - this just seems to line the gluten up. annd dough. looks much smoother and shinier.

12:20 pm  coil folds

13:10 pm coil folds then into fridge.

19:45 pm remove dough from fridge and allow to warm up, targeting 16°C dough temperature.

21:15 pm divide and pre shape

21:30 pm final shaping and left to proof. after an hour or so I popped bagguettes in fridge to hold whilst other bread finished baking and I could heat the lava stones up.  Final bake 21 minutes at 255°C - never baked at that temperature before! although I reduced temperature to 235°C about 3/4 way through as I thought it might burn.

I am reasonably happy with the  bake - the baguettes rose beautifully - by far my best effort with shaping and volume.  Still haven’t managed to get that lovely open crumb and scoring still needs work. 

Not sure when I will be able to source T65 flour again but will try again if I do.

Leslie

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I have rhubarb from our friends again so I’m back to baking fruit pies again.  So this time I combined sour cherries with the rhubarb which I got the idea from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s book.  I used Kenji Lopez-Alt’s pate brisée recipe again since it has been no fail so far.  If you’re interested in how to make that pastry look at this previous blog post where I posted the details.

Filling

250 g pitted sour cherries

250 g rhubarb cut in 0.5-1 inch pieces

132 g sugar

2 tbsp or 19 g cornstarch (I used 40 g)

A pinch of salt

I found that these measurements didn’t make quite enough filling for my tastes, I would probably increase each of the cherries and rhubarb to 300 g each.  Since we are cooking the filling before baking you can easily adjust the sugar and cornstarch to your taste.

Tossed frozen cherries and rhubarb in a pot with the sugar and salt until the fruit started to give up some juices.  Then added cornstarch and mixed to dissolve.  Cooked over medium heat until thickened.  Once cooled refrigerated overnight.

Once the bottom pastry is rolled out and transferred to the pie plate cover and place in fridge for at least 30 mins and up to 3 hours allowing the butter to firm up and the gluten to relax before adding the filling and topping with the top pastry.

Prior to baking brush egg wash on the top crust and apply turbinado sugar.

When ready to bake pre-heat oven to 425°F baking at this temperature for 30-40 mins on the lowest rack on a baking stone or steel.  Watch the edge and protect it from over browning.  

After 20 mins shielded the edge and continued to bake at 425°F for another 10 or so mins then shielded the whole pie with a cookie tray and decreased temperature to 350°F and baked until the bottom crust was nicely browned.

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My index of bakes.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon these puffy soft bagels called açma/acma while learning how to braid strands of dough. But I never got around to studying about their ingredients. They are so easy and fun to make. Unlike simit with its crispy crust, açma is soft and bun-like. I turned the doughs into different kinds of twists and rolls. The ones above were topped with chopped walnuts, brown sugar and maple butterscotch glaze.


Topped with cheddar and sesame seeds

First two batches were made with instant yeast and sourdough discard*

Açma with sourdough discard and instant yeast

Dough
100g starter discard (100% hydration)
40g honey or sugar
90g whole milk
100g Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1g instant yeast
350g all purpose flour
8g salt
50g light olive oil

Eggwash
1 large egg
1 tsp milk
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt

Toppings / fillings
Cheddar, shredded or chopped
Sesame seeds
Chopped walnuts with brown sugar
Unsalted butter, softened
Maple butterscotch glaze (recipe further down)


Prepare the eggwash
Whisk the egg, milk, salt and sugar. Cover and set aside in the fridge.

Prepare the dough
Whisk sugar/honey in the yogurt, milk and egg. Add the flour and yeast. Mix on low speed for about 3-5 minutes until the dough comes together. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.

Then, mix in salt and oil. Once these are absorbed, continue kneading at medium low speed for about 5-10 minutes, until the dough reaches windowpane stage.

Let the dough rise for 45 minutes at 23-25°C.

On a lightly oiled counter, gently deflate and perform stretch and fold on the dough. Then, shape it into a boule and return the dough to the bowl.

First proof
For a more flavorful açma, cover and let the dough rise in the fridge (4-5°C) for the next 10 − 14 hours.

To make the açma on the same day, cover and let the dough rise for another 45 minutes at 23-25°C. Then, chill the dough for 2 hours.

Shaping
Remove the chilled dough from the fridge about 10 minutes before shaping. Divide the dough on the lightly oiled work surface into 40 - 80g pieces of dough.

Shape the dough pieces into thick logs, cover and rest them seam side down for 10−15 minutes.

To make plains bagel buns: use 60-80g dough per bun. Roll each dough log to about 20-25cm and then seal the ends together to form a bagel.

To make braided rings similar to simit: use 2 pieces of dough weighing about 40-50g.  Roll the dough to log to about 20-25cm in length. Take two strands of dough and twist them together like a braid. Seal the ends together to form a twisted bagel.

To make with filling (optional): flatten the dough pieces before rolling them. Brush a thin layer of softened butter on 2/3 width of the dough. Or add fillings like dried fruits and nuts. Roll the dough from the longer edge into a log. Seal the seams and continue rolling to about 20-25cm. Then proceed to twist or form single strand bagels.

If the dough pieces keep contracting when rolling, do not force them. Cover and let them relax for 10−15 minutes and then roll them out to the desired length.

Place the shaped bun at least 5-10cm apart from each other on parchment-lined baking sheet. With a pencil, mark 0.5 to 1cm points from the base the shaped dough to mark the rise of the dough.

Final proof
For fluffy soft açma: Loosely cover the shaped dough pieces with cling film and tea towel. Let them proof for about 60 minutes at 23-25°C or until the shaped dough reaches between the two markings.

About 15 minutes before the end of the proof, brush the shaped açma with egg wash.

Then sprinkle toppings, if using.

For bagel-like açma: once shaped, brush each shaped dough with egg wash and add toppings. Let them rest uncovered for 30-45 minutes. Then, bake as described.

Bake
At least 30 minutes before bake time, preheat the oven to 200°C. Place a heat proof casserole in the bottom rack with 2 cups of water.

Bake with steam for 15 - 20 minutes turning the baking sheet halfway, until the buns are golden and the internal temperature is at least 93°C.

Transfer the baked açma to cool on a rack. Cover with a tea towel to keep them soft.


This most recent batch were made with ripe sourdough, Tangzhong and semola rimacinata flour. I baked them on the same day and instead of letting them get too puffy, these had a shorter final proof for a more chewy, bagel-like texture.


Filled with butter, dark chocolate chips or laminated with hazelnut spread. Fun to make but tough to produce consistent shapes!


Sourdough açma

Starter 21-23°C 8-10 hours
- my starter has been consistently producing zero-sour breads with ratios like the one

2g starter
55g all purpose flour
55g water
2g sugar

Tangzhong
15g all purpose flour
75g whole milk

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
100g starter (100% hydration)
15g milk
90g Greek yogurt
50g 1 large egg
40g sugar
114g Semola rimacinata flour
201g all purpose flour
7g salt
40g light olive oil

Eggwash
1 large egg
1 tsp milk
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt

Topping/Filling
Unsalted butter
Hazelnut chocolate spread
Dark chocolate chips
Sesame seeds


Preparation of the dough is the similar as the first batch. Prepare the Tangzhong first, then let it cool while preparing the rest of the ingredients. Add the Tangzhong together with rest of the dough ingredients.

Once the dough is smooth and elastic, let it proof for 1 hour at 23-25°C. Then, deflate, stretch and fold the dough on an oiled counter. Shape it into a boule and return to the proofing bowl.

First proof
Cover and let the dough rise for another 2 hours at 23-25°C. Then, chill the dough for 2 hours.

Shaping - similar steps as the instant yeast version above.

Final proof
For a bagel-like açma: Once shaped, brush each shaped bun with egg wash. Let them rest uncovered for 45-60 minutes. Then, brush another layer of egg wash (optional) and add the toppings and bake as described.

For fluffy soft açma: Loosely cover with cling film and tea towel. Let the shaped buns proof for 1 to 1.5 hours at 23-25°C or until the dough reaches between the two markings on the parchment.

Bake the açma the same way as the previous recipe.


The recipes above were adapted from these links: https://ozlemsturkishtable.com/2016/05/acma-turkish-style-soft-bagels/

https://www.mycookingjourney.com/acma-soft-turkish-bagel/


Maple Butterscotch glaze/drizzle
- optional post-bake drizzle
- can also be used on cookies/cakes

30g brown sugar
50g maple syrup
1/4 tsp lemon juice
30g unsalted butter
60g cream or whole milk
A pinch of salt


Heat the ingredients over medium low heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved and butter is melted, then increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil.

As soon as it begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and let the mixture boil slowly for 5-10 minutes without stirring. Swirl the pan 2-3 times during the cooking period.

Remove from heat, loosely cover and let the glaze cool to room temperature before use. It will thicken as it cools. Drizzle over anything and everything because it's soooo gooood.


The next bake is one of my two favorite cakes at the moment: sourdough discard eggless chocolate cake (the other being a pandan yogurt cake)

Since I always have a little jar of discard* in the fridge, I started using them in my chocolate cakes instead of my usual buns/loaves.

A while back, I posted a recipe for a mini chocolate sheet cake using a 1/8 sheet pan. Sadly, a mini chocolate cake only serves 1, not enough to share. This recipe bakes in a quarter (1/4) sheet pan and contains no egg :)

Might've gone a little over with the white chocolate doodles here

Sourdough discard eggless chocolate sheet cake

Cake
120g all purpose flour
40g cocoa powder
90g brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
50g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
120g sourdough discard
60g plain Greek yogurt
60g whole milk
15g (1 tbsp) lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
40g unsalted butter, melted
40g light olive oil
120g freshly brewed coffee, hot

Chocolate glaze
60g unsalted butter
20g cocoa powder
80g semisweet/dark chocolate, chopped
A pinch of salt
3 - 4 tbsp whole milk/cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: 2 tsp coffee liqueur or rum, 1/4 tsp instant coffee, 2-3 tbsp chocolate chips or toasted walnuts/pecans, shredded coconut
For doodles: White chocolate, melted

Prepare the cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a quarter sheet pan with parchment paper.

Whisk together all purpose flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix starter discard, yogurt, whole milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, melted butter and olive oil until the mixture is smooth.

Fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2-3 parts until just combined and with very little dry bits visible.

Then, add in the hot coffee and stir until the mixture is smooth. The batter will be is thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or the cake bounces back when gently pressed with a fingertip.

Prepare the glaze:
While the cake is baking, prepare the dark chocolate glaze.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the cocoa powder, chopped chocolate, salt and 3 tbsp milk until the mixture is well-combined and smooth. Add another tbsp of milk for a thinner, pourable glaze (will take longer to set) and will make a fudgier cake.

Remove the pan from heat and whisk in vanilla extract and chopped nuts and liqueur (if using).

Immediately, when the cake comes out of the oven, prick holes all over the top of the cake with a tooth pick. Then, pour the glaze all over. Use an off-set spatula to spread the frosting to the edges of the pan. Add toppings, if using.

Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes before serving or let it set completely for 1-2 hours in the fridge.

Use a plastic disposable knife or a warm sharp knife to cut the cake for clean cut edges.


Lastly, here's another braided/swirly loaf! This time, with matcha, AP and semola rimacinata flour:


Matcha milk loaf with AP & semola rimacinata

Tangzhong
100g whole milk
20g all purpose flour

Dough
All of the Tangzhong
80g whole milk
1 large egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
120g starter discard (100% hydration)
220g all purpose flour
100g Semola rimacinata flour
2g instant yeast
50g sugar
6g salt
50g unsalted butter
15g light olive oil

Matcha dough
3g matcha powder sifted mixed with 5g whole milk. Mix into 330g (approx 40%) of the dough

Proofing temp: 22-24°C
First proof: 1 hour 30 minutes
Preshape, laminate both doughs: approx 15-30 minutes
Final proof: 1 hour 15 minutes or until the dough is about 2cm or 0.75" from the rim of the pan


Bake in a 9x4x4 Pullman loaf pan at 180°C 25 minutes with lid on, 20-25 minutes without, until internal temperature is at least    93°C.


*Sourdough discard
While I think it's ideal to keep little-to-zero discard for my starter, I feel "bad" whenever I remove a large portion for baking and then in that container, there's only this miserable 2-3g left. So, to keep them happier with more "friends", I feed them at a 1:5:5 (and sometimes with 1g sugar as a treat) in between bakes, whether on the counter or in the fridge. :)


These are some of the bakes that made it into my phone during the last couple of months; sometimes these bakes/makes get eaten way sooner than expected :p


3 versions of the same Queen Elizabeth date cake for my husband's birthday this year: 3" square, 4" rectangle, 6" round. Coconut ermine frosting with maple coconut butterscotch glaze.


Leftover paska dough turned into coconut braids (top) and pork floss & sesame twists


Mini sourdough focaccia with spiced onions, tomatoes and olives made in a 1/8 sheet pan


Mini sourdough pizzas with an awesome curry sauce from Glebe Kitchen and pulled chicken


Matcha & coconut butter mochi cake

Happy holidays (Canada Day and long weekend)! :p


- Christi

Trying to get into baking 2 times a week to get some practice in, hence this loaf!

Almost the same process as the first one, but with the following inclusions/ steps:

- 4% Miso
- Alot more furikake. Almost emptied the packet out
- Added these 2 ingredients at the final mix before bulk fermentation (as per benny's suggestion)

The crumb seems a little tighter compared to the first loaf, and not as open as benny's.

Some thoughts as to why:
- Am thinking it could be the whole wheat and miso...?
- Or perhaps my shaping needs some work? The dough after bulk fermentation was alot bubblier than the first loaf, so i was pretty afraid to degas it too much when shaping.


Either way, pretty happy with this bake! The quest for a more open crumb continues...

27JUN

 I have not made Bialys in a long time.  The last time I made these I used Spelt so this time I decided to use some freshly ground high extraction whole wheat.

For the filling most of them used the traditional mixture of poppy seeds, onions and oil but I didn’t make enough so I used some shredded aged Vermont white cheddar.  You can’t go wrong with adding cheese to about anything in my humble opinion :).

Levain

 Seed Starter (66% hydration): 83 grams

AP Flour: 172 grams

Rye Bran: 25 grams (you can omit this and just add more flour)

Water: 116 grams

Main Dough

First Clear Flour: 551 grams

Fresh WW Flour: 257 grams

Ice Water: 490 grams

Salt: 20 grams

All of the Levain Above

Levain Directions

Step 1

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my proofer set at 83 degrees and it took about 4 hours.

Onion Poppy Seed Filling

45 grams Dehydrated Onions

340 grams Boiling Water

14 grams Vegetable Oil

10 grams Black Poppy Seeds

4 grams (1/4 tsp.) Sea Salt

Add the boiling water to the onions and stir and let them sit for around 30 minutes or longer.  Next strain them out and spread them on a piece of paper towel.  Wring out as much water as you can.

Mix the onions with the remaining ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours with the ice water for about 1 minute.  Let the rough dough sit for about 20 minutes to an hour.  Next add the starter and  salt and mix on low for 5 minutes and speed #2 for another 3 minutes.   You should end up with a cohesive dough that is slightly tacky but very manageable.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  Let the dough rise until it is doubled in size.  I used my proofer and it took around 5 hours.  

When the dough is ready, divide into 12 pieces that are 85 grams each and shape them into round rolls shapes.  Let them rest on a parchment covered baking sheet and cover with sprayed plastic wrap or a moist lint free towel(s).  Let the shaped dough proof until they are doubled in size and the poke test leaves a nice indent.  You almost want them to over-proof otherwise they will puff up too much which you don’t want.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Once they are proofed sufficiently take each ball in your hand and place your two thumbs in the middle and stretch the dough so the center is paper thin and the outside has a nice thick rim.  It’s almost like making a mini pizza.

Next, place a teaspoon of the onion filling in the middle of each shaped bialy and place in your oven.   Place the cup of boiling water into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the bialys are nice and brown.

I was very happy with how these came out. I usually leave a few out to eat and freeze the rest in double zip lock bags and when I want one to eat I microwave one for 25-30 seconds and toast.

Below are a few garden photos for those who are interested from this spring.

so I've baked this Chocolate Rye from Lutz Geißler's ploetzblog -- https://www-ploetzblog-de.translate.goog/2015/09/05/im-schoko-rausch-schokoladenbrot-sechzig-prozent-roggenbrot/?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_... -- twice now. It's got extraordinary flavor and, though I got two completely different looking results, I wanted to share it here.

About a month ago, when the weather was cooler and drier in NYC, the boule was serious, sleek, dark, and delicious (sorry no crumb shot; I gave the loaf to a friend).

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Last night, after a day that was super-steamy and hot, the bread came out a bit more tortured.

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The flavor's super complex, with a spicy combo of char from the crust, undertones of deep chocolate and an aromatic base of sour rye.

I didn't have a plan for this week and had a request for some kind of onion bread. After searching around I found an onion and sage bread. Reading more about that someone mentioned that the bread tasted kind of like a Thanksgiving Stuffing. AH HA! Inspiration strikes. If I can make an onion bread with some herbs, why not make a Thanksgiving Stuffing bread. One of the easy to make instant bread stuffings in America is StoveTop stuffing. Bread crumbs, a seasoning package, and some chicken stock to hydrate...cooked on the stove or in the oven. Yes, this is a Thanksgiving staple, and a flavor I haven't had in years now. A quick google search for the ingredient list I had my plan. Make a slightly elevated version in sourdough form. 

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

I started by caramelizing some onions (roughly 4) in a bit of butter until golden brown and roasting 3 heads of garlic in the oven. Once done those were combined together to make the onion garlic base. I used fresh herbs from my porch garden (rosemary and sage) but had to go with a bit of dried thyme because it doesn't grow well in my climate. Followed the usual process for prepping the levain and preparing a sourdough loaf as usual, adding the herbs to the second stretch and fold as I would any other inclusion. It smelled really good when going through the bulk and shaping...and the baking....

Herb and cracked pepper mix along with the golden onion and garlic. Fun bonus, I had some left over and turned it into a great onion dip.

The bread ended up a bit darker than I wanted and what normally happens with my loaves but I'm guessing it is from the residual sugars from the onion. It doesn't effect the flavor but I probably could have pulled this 5 minutes earlier. 

Perfectly happy with the crumb and the distribution of onion, garlic, and herbs. 

Tasting Notes: Memories are locked to things like music, smells, and taste...and boy does this one pack in some great memories. The flavor very much tastes like a good version of Thanksgiving Stuffing. I can't wait to try this as a sandwich. When asked my family gave this evaluation.... "This bread has no business being this good"! I can't argue with that. The herbs, onion, and garlic all blend together to make something greater than the individual contributions. 

Time/Effort: 3 days (Growing Levain, Mixing Dough, Baking) Normal for sourdough for my process. Maybe an hour or so of extra time spent the night before mixing to cook the onions and garlic, but honestly, worth the time. 

Would I make it again: Yes, without a doubt in my mind. Super happy with this one and can't think of any adjustments I would make to it other than to watch the final browning to have it not be as dark. Oh, and this would probably also be really really good as a focaccia!