January 1, 2024 - 8:11am
Focaccia Dough Weight for 9 x 13” pan
I’m wondering for those of you who bake focaccia how much dough do you use to make a 9 x 13” pan focaccia of average thickness? I’m not planning on slicing it to make sandwiches so don’t need it super thick.
Benny
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Bruno Albouze has 2 focaccia recipes.
I have made the larger version. His recipes are trustworthy, I have used dozens of them. He is a French and French-trained pastry chef.
Straight dough version: 360g flour weight at ~60% hydration for a 10" round pan. Finished product is thick enough for sandwiches. This is a recipe that beginners can work with because of the smaller dough mass and lower hydration.
Poolish version: 750g total flour weight at 76% hydration for a half sheet pan. Finished product is thinner, probably close to what you are looking for. Just thick enough for sandwiches.
One estimate is to use 360g flour weight and the larger surface area of the 13x9 pan means the finished product will be a bit thinner than if it was baked in a 10" round pan.
A second estimate is to scale the poolish version down from 13x18 half sheet to 13x9, so 375g total flour weight.
If you want something a bit thiner, 325g-350g total flour weight in the 13x9 pan at around 75% hydration would work. Watch the color in the oven because it will bake fast.
…on his blog recommends 1200g for a 9”x13” pan in this excellent formula. I have made it several times. It may be on the slightly thick side so there is wiggle room to cut it back.
-Brad
Thank you both SM and Brad for your responses. I’ve had weird volume issues with focaccia in the past. When I made Maurizio’s recipe it was far too thick for my liking. Subsequently I’ve made smaller batches for which I calculated dough weights needed that came out far too thin.
Benny
Benny - I am wondering if when you cut down the dough weight you also reduce the thickness of the dough to the point where the CO2 diffuses to the surface during proof and departs the focaccia leaving less gas to inflate the dough after oven entry. I am trying to think about that in relation to pizza where you don't get much "oven spring" except in the corenicione where the dough is thicker.
And I found my process sheet for focaccia which I have not made in quite a while. It was sized for a 1/2-sheet pan and the dough weight was 1042g, so 521g for a 1/4-sheet rectangular pan. It is 73% hydration + 6% olive oil so it will behave like a dough of around 80% hydration which is what I remember.
That is a very interesting idea Doc, I hadn’t considered that.
Is your half sheet pan 13 x 18” which I believe is the “standard” half sheet. If so that isn’t a lot of dough for such a large surface area. Do you recall how thick your focaccia baked up?
When I made Maurizio’s focaccia it was 1200 g for a 13 x 9” pan which I believe is a quarter sheet pan and it was too thick.
Benny
My half sheet is 13" x 17.875" and my 1/4-sheet pans are 9.5" x 13" measured to the outside edge so subtract some for the taper.
I don't have a photo of the focaccia that is indexed that way but as I remember it was about 3/4" thick (certainly not taller than the pan is deep), but height depends to some extent on how long you proof and how much topping you add. Generally I just sprinkle the top with olive oil, punch it down with my fingers, sprinkle it with kosher salt and nigella seed and bake.
Thank you for your responses Doc and your detailed emails to me.
Benny
620g. Certainly I would expect 1200g to be way too much.
vol. Overflow estimates how much it rises over the top of the base dimensions.
Specific volume: 4 or more probably.
Weight loss from baking. Probably higher than the usual 10%. Went for 15%.
No Focaccia in the examples listed, but we can expect it to be in the ciabatta territory.
I’ll need to digest that Michael.
I am wondering if when I made my last focaccia that came out too flat if I didn’t measure something correctly leading to the lack of height. It had a reasonable crumb, but just lacked height.
Thank you for sharing all of that with us.
Benny
Benny,Recipe I’ve been using past few years. Short answer to your question according to this recipe is a shade under 500 g. Recipe as listed will do a quarter sheet pan. Double for a half sheet. I make the poolish night before, then follow the timings 4.5 hours to yield focaccia at least 30 minutes before serving. Double recipe for sheet pan! Poolish200 g water200 g flour5 g honey5 g active dry yeastMix, rest on counter for 1 hr, refrigerate overnight Final DoughAll the poolish60 g flour8 g saltMix, fold/knead until smoothMake ball, rest for 2 hours Stretch/fold.Make ball, rest for 1 hour Place on oiled pan, rest for 1 hour Preheat oven to 450FOil top, spread/dimple with fingertips to fill panAdd tomatoes, olives, oregano, etc.Rest for 30 minutesSprinkle with flaky sea saltBake at 450, 15-20 minutes or until nicely brownedRemove from pan and cool on rack to maintain crispy bottom Good luck and happiest new year,Phil
That is very good to know, thank you Phil.
Another thing I wonder now is whether having too much olive oil on the bottom of the pan could have negatively affected that last focaccia I made and caused it to turn out too flat?
Happy New Year all the best in happiness and health Phil.
Benny
If you have never watched Vito Iacopelli's videos, they are a hoot and should be mandatory viewing for anybody who wants to make pizza. They are loaded with tons of detail. His focaccia video is at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX-zqhXtjmM
Every one of his exhibitions is worth the time. Nothing held back. Family secrets all graciously shared. You won't absorb it all in one pass. Some things are subtle, but all is understandable.
Thanks for sharing that video link Doc, I will watch that soon. Today I’m doing baguettes so perhaps in prep for the focaccia next week I’ll have a look.
Benny
So while I have you guys do you think using too much oil on the bottom of the pan can negatively affect the dough and subsequent rise? The last focaccia I made had 450 g of dough for a 9” round pan, which is likely plenty for that size pan. It was well risen, but when baked it turned out kind of crispy and wasn’t well risen. I’m thinking that it almost fried rather than baked as a result of the oil. Perhaps the problem wasn’t not enough dough but instead too much oil. What do you think?
Benny
I thought that a fried bottom was desired for a focaccia. Is that not so?
Yes a nice crisp bottom crust is desirable, but the whole thing was a bit too crispy. I’m just trying to figure out what went wrong since it seems the amount of dough wasn’t too small for the size of the pan. I wish I had taken photos of the dough in the pan to show the amount of oil in it.
Benny
I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say the bottom should be crispy, since crispiness is the result of dehydration and the base is where moisture escapes most slowly. Depending on thickness, focaccia tends to soften-up quickly because its bake time is relatively short. Genovese focaccia tends to be crispier because it is made on the thinner side. A topped style more reminiscent of Southern Italian focaccia tends to be thicker (about an inch) and is softer as a result.
I think of just liberally greasing the tray (sheet pan) rather than it being like shallow-fry.
Since we're talking focaccia, something to note, as with many baked goods, the approach and methodology drifts as it travels outside it home. Focaccia recipes have become very highly hydrated when traditionally they are not so. While Focaccia dough is a slightly soft dough, that is mostly the result of using medium strength flours.
Like with pizza, protein content has a strong bearing on the texture of the focaccia also. As many will be aware: lower gluten leads to shortness / crispness. Higher gluten leads to more texture and chew and softness (depending on specific volume). Something in the middle leaning higher will be good here.
Michael
I believe there was too much oil, the more I read these helpful responses and that resulted in more of a shallow fry which probably led to the crust forming too quickly and limiting oven spring. I’ll need to be more careful with my use of the oil in the pan in my next bake. I’ll post it once it is done.
Also good to know that the typical traditional southern Italian focaccia is about 1 inch thickness.
Benny
When I first made focaccia, I did the same and used too much oil.
Good to know you're figuring this out Benny. I look forward to seeing the results...
Michael
Nice to know that I’m not the only one who has used too much oil in the pan of my focaccia. I’ll report back when I get around to making my focaccia. I had baguettes on my mind this week so that pushed the focaccia off to next week.
Thank you everyone who helped and took the time to respond, it is much appreciated.
Benny
Thank you guys for your contributions. I decided to go with 900 g of dough for my 9 x 13” pan. I did a slightly different focaccia by adding my homemade red miso and toasted sesame seed oil to the dough. I’m quite pleased with the results. It baked to a thickness of between 1.5-2 inches. I’d probably bake at a slightly lower temperature next time and use a bit more olive oil in the pan since I had some sticking issues, nothing terrible though. Next time I may reduce the weight down to about 750 g as this is still a bit thick, but I’m not at all disappointed as this is more of what I like with focaccia and actually about what Eataly bakes.
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