That is going to be my final Bread Baking Babes bread for some time, as a result of I discover that I do not make bread a lot anymore and Sweetie has no willpower to not eat contemporary bread and is blissful I am baking much less. Higher for our waistlines, too. I am going to nonetheless be running a blog and checking on the sixteenth of every month to see what the others have been as much as…and it’s best to too.
The excellent news is that I am Kitchen of the Month for December 2023 and I selected a beautiful bread – Fougasse. This one is commonly referred to as Leaf Bread, too, as a result of the bread is formed like a big leaf (or Christmas tree!) and you narrow the leaf veins in order that this form of flat bread appears to be like like a leaf and tears or breaks aside for sharing very simply.
I made two variations of fougasse for this problem. The primary, which ended up being formed much like a Christmas Tree, was with chopped rosemary and topped with extra rosemary and with sea salt. It makes your home odor scrumptious because it bakes and is kind of tasty.
The second fougasse was formed like a verrrry vast square-ish leaf and was flavored with each chopped walnuts and crumbles of blue cheese. That made a pleasant mixture and went effectively with our bean soup. That is the picture on the high. You possibly can see that it is an uncommon form for a leaf…and that the blue cheese melted and ran, which made it style even higher, I guarantee you.
The recipe given makes sufficient dough for 4 fougasse of about 450 grams every. Earlier than you resolve to chop the recipe in half or quarters, keep in mind that in case your fridge has room, this dough can sit in your fridge for a lot of days, getting a greater taste every day, so you may bake the 4 loaves over every week or so and have numerous contemporary, scrumptious, aromatic bread.
Fougasse is fairly flat nevertheless it ought to be pretty fluffy inside nevertheless it does have plenty of skinny crustiness due to the cuts that create the veins.
In case you bake together with us and wish to be a Buddy, ensure and e mail me your URL and a photograph and a brief description of your bake and I am going to ship you a Buddy badge. You will have till Dec. twenty ninth to get that to me at plachman -at-sonic-dot-net.
Be sure you take a look at the bakes that the opposite Babes have completed, too. We have now a really inventive and supportive group and I’ll miss the month-to-month bakes and particularly the bakers!
I forgot to say that this bread makes a fantastic present, too…which is useful as it’s present giving season.
Let’s take into consideration baking this…You should utilize sourdough starter or dry yeast, you may taste it with rosemary and sea salt…my favourite…however you would use different seasonings like oregano, basil, lemongrass…or use seeds like poppy seeds or sesame seeds to reinforce the bread. Take into account including cheese, like a great sturdy blue cheese, and perhaps some walnut items. Possibly you prefer to citrus zest added, or maybe olives.
Let’s have a look at what you give you. The fundamentals of the problem are to make a leaf formed, slashed bread, ideally with the recipe(s) under, however you resolve the form, flavorings, and if you’ll use sourdough starter or not.
Fougasse with Rosemary and Sea Salt
Preferment:
1/4 teaspoon energetic dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water (not sizzling), divided
2 cups bread flour, divided
Combine collectively 1/4 teaspoon energetic dry yeast, 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup bread flour in a bowl. Cowl calmly and let sit for 1 hour. Add a further 1 cup lukewarm water and add extra cup bread flour and blend till all new elements are included. Let sit for not less than an hour for taste (or refrigerate in a single day, then carry to room temperature).
Dough
all of Preferment
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup water, divided
1/4 teaspoon energetic dry yeast
4 – 5.5 cups unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
2-3 tablespoons olive oil from brushing
1-2 tablespoons chopped contemporary rosemary
1/2 – 1 tablespoon contemporary rosemary for high of dough
Within the bowl of a stand mixer place the Preferment. Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and blend briefly simply till the oil is combined in.
Make certain the water for the dough is lukewarm, not sizzling. Take 1/4 cup of it and add the dry yeast in a small bowl. Let sit 5 minutes till foamy.
Add the rehydrated yeast, the remainder of the nice and cozy water, and about half the flour (2 cups) to the combination within the stand mixer bowl. Combine with the paddle.
Swap to the dough hook. On sluggish velocity add the remaining flour, a half cup or so at a time, including just a few tablespoons at a time towards the top. The dough will probably be delicate. Add the salt after which knead with the dough hook on low to medium low velocity for about 6 minutes, till the dough cleans the perimeters of the bowl and is clean. If essential, add as much as a further cup flour in order that dough is delicate however agency. Flip kneaded dough out on a calmly floured board or counter and knead just a few turns to verify all flour is included.
Type the dough right into a ball. With the remaining tablespoon olive oil, oil a big bowl and switch the dough ball within the oil to coat. Cowl with oiled plastic wrap or a clear bathe cap and place in a heat place and let rise till doubled in bulk. This often takes a few hours however verify typically. Dough is prepared when a finger poked into the dough depart an indent that stays.
Shaping: About an hour earlier than baking the fougasse, punch dough down, and switch the dough out onto a calmly floured board. Knead just a few instances to do away with the additional trapped fuel. Divide it into 4 items weighing about the identical. Take one of many items and knead within the chopped contemporary rosemary, then press it out right into a leaf form. Use your clear fingers to press it to about 10-11-inches on a facet and about 1/2 – 1-inch excessive. Moist fingers if essential, in order that dough would not stick. (I formed it right into a tall triangle.)
Place the formed dough onto a bit of baking parchment which has been positioned on a baking sheet. Utilizing a bench scraper or stiff plastic scraper or one thing comparable, reduce into the dough to make leaf ‘veins’ – see picture at high of publish. Use your fingers to softly unfold out the dough to open up the cuts. Preserve the leaf form. Repeat if desired with the opposite items of dough, making 4 leaves, which will be flavored in another way if desired, or retailer remainder of dough, coated, in fridge, till prepared to make use of.
Cowl with calmly oiled plastic wrap, oiled facet down, and let rise for about half-hour. Leaf will get puffy. If holes shut up, gently open them once more along with your fingers after eradicating the plastic wrap.
Whereas leaf is rising, preheat the oven to 425 levels F. In case you have a pizza stone, put it in to preheat too.
Use a pastry brush to calmly brush the floor of the leaf with olive oil, then sprinkle with some contemporary rosemary and sea salt.
Bake within the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes till darkish golden brown. Take away from oven, cool a bit on a wire rack after having eliminated it from pan and parchment. Serve whereas nonetheless heat, breaking off items of the leaf, or reducing into parts.
Do not take care of rosemary and sea salt? Simply change these along with your favourite enhancements.
or, for Sourdough:
2 cups 100% hydration sourdough starter
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup water, divided
1/4 teaspoon energetic dry yeast
4 – 5.5 cups unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
additions like cheese, nuts, herbs, citrus peels, olives, and many others.
Within the bowl of a stand mixer place the sourdough starter. Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and blend briefly with the paddle attachment simply till the oil is combined in.
Make certain the water is lukewarm. Take 1/4 cup of it and add the dry yeast. Let sit 5 minutes till foamy.
Add the yeast, the remainder of the nice and cozy water, and about half the flour. Combine with the paddle.
Swap to the dough hook. On sluggish velocity add the flour, a half cup or so at a time, including just a few tablespoons at a time towards the top. The dough will probably be delicate. Add the salt after which knead with the dough hook on low to medium low velocity for about 6 minutes, till the dough cleans the perimeters of the bowl and is clean. End up on a calmly floured board or counter and knead in many of the rosemary, leaving a few teaspoon for the highest.
Type the dough right into a ball. Oil a big bowl (not metallic) and switch the dough ball within the oil to coat. Cowl with plastic wrap and place in a heat place and let rise till doubled in bulk. It took mine 4 hours, however even my ‘heat’ place wasn’t as heat because it ought to have been.
Punch dough down, prove of the bowl onto a calmly floured floor, knead just a few instances to do away with the additional trapped fuel.
Use the Directions for Shaping and Baking within the recipe above.
Elizabeth gave us the recipe to incorporate weights. I am an entire idiot in the case of conversions, however I believe Elizabeth is aware of what she is doing. Thanks Elizabeth!
FOUGASSE WITH ROSEMARY AND SEA SALT
(for 4 fougasses)
PREFERMENT
1/4 teaspoon energetic dry yeast [0.75 grams]
2 cups lukewarm water (not sizzling), divided [480 grams?]
2 cups bread flour, divided [240 grams]
DOUGH
all of Preferment [720 grams?]
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided [50 grams]
1 cup water, divided [240 grams]
1/4 teaspoon energetic dry yeast [0.75 grams]
4 – 5.5 cups unbleached bread flour [480-660 grams]
2 teaspoons salt [12 grams]
TOPPING
2-3 tablespoons olive oil from brushing
1-2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
1-2 tablespoons sea salt for sprinkling
SOURDOUGH VERSION:
2 cups 100% hydration sourdough starter [720??? grams]
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided [50 grams]
1 cup water, divided [240 grams]
[strike]1/4 teaspoon energetic dry yeast[/strike]
4 – 5.5 cups unbleached bread flour [480-660 grams]
2 teaspoons salt [12 grams]
additions like cheese, nuts, herbs, citrus peels, olives, and many others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If I have been going to make a wild model, I believe I may be a foul BBBabe and check out following this earlier wild yeast one I made, however miss the poppy seeds:
https://etherwork.web/weblog/wild-fougasse-with-poppy-seeds/.
Karen transformed the starter, flour and salt for half the unique recipe to grams. Thanks Karen!
1 cup starter = 227 to 241 grams
2 to 2 3/4 cups flour = 240 to 330 grams (I used 260 grams)
1 teaspoon desk salt = 6 gram
