November 4, 2011 - 3:53am
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.