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Overnight 80% hydration focaccia a success

foodslut's picture
foodslut

Overnight 80% hydration focaccia a success

A friend of mine showed me how to make 80% hydration ciabatta bread, using folds instead of kneading, saying it could also be used to make a mean focaccia or pizza dough.

Since he gets all day to do his baking, and I'm still working days, I wanted to try an "overnight" version - make the dough one evening, ferment overnight in the fridge, then shape/proof/bake the next evening.  The long fermentation meant I had to cut the yeast quite a bit.

Here's the formula I tried:

Bread flour  50

Whole wheat flour  50

Water  80

Salt  2

Instant yeast  0.333

  • Mix dough & autolyse for ~15-20 minutes.
  • Fold the dough to start to develop the gluten, and repeat every 10-15 minutes three more times.
  • Into a container, then ferment in the fridge overnight.
  • Didn't see too, too much rise (a little less than double), but carried on.
  • Shape focaccia in cookie sheet well greased with olive oil or on parchment, and proof for 45-50 minutes.
  • Into a 500F oven onto a stone for 17 minutes, then spin around and bake for another 12-14 minutes (depending on brownness of crust you want) - internal temperature should be 200 to 205F.

I was pleased with both the look and the crumb.

Until the novelty wears off, this will now be our default "house bread" for our everyday eating and enjoyment.

SallyBR's picture
SallyBR

Wow, pretty awesome!

I might try this recipe this weekend, love the idea of a little whole wheat in my flat bread...

 

thank you!

foodslut's picture
foodslut

.... adding the WW flour gives the flatbread.  In fact, this weekend, I'll be trying a 75% whole wheat version (probably will up the hydration to ~82-83% to keep it less dense with more whole wheat).

Glad you enjoyed it!