BREAD

For the Dough

In a mixing bowl, whisk together bread flour and yeast. Once combined, add kosher salt along with the room temperature water.

Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently mix the wet and dry ingredients until a rough ball of dough forms. No need to knead!

Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours or until it rises. The dough should be filled with bubbles and have the tangy scent of fermentation.

For the Baking Process

Turn out the dough onto a heavily floured work surface. Instead of kneading, pull each corner of the dough to the center until you have heavily floured, smooth, and taut dough.

Once you have a large, round, smooth surface, begin pulling the dough toward the bottom, shaping it into a small mound, and place the dough on parchment paper.

Cover the dough with a liberally floured clean kitchen towel. Keep it covered for 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat your oven to at least 450° F or its highest setting with a cast iron Dutch oven inside for at least an hour while the dough rests.

Cut excess parchment paper off around the dough and score the top of your dough with your desired pattern.

Using the parchment paper, drop the dough directly into the cast iron Dutch oven and spritz liberally with water before covering.

Place in the oven and let it bake. Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes and then remove the lid, spritz the dough again, and bake for another 15 minutes to get a golden crust. This method creates a steamy environment initially, then crisps up the crust after removing the lid.

Let the bread cool for 2 hours before slicing. Serve and enjoy!

For the Dough

In the stand mixer’s bowl, combine bread flour and room temperature water. Mix on low speed for a few minutes until a shaggy ball of dough forms.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 150° water, active dry yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Allow the yeast and water mixture to rest at room temperature until it forms a foamy consistency, about 5 minutes.

Once the dough forms into a shaggy ball, add the yeast mixture to the dough. Turn your stand mixture up to medium speed and add Kosher salt, mixing for about 5 minutes. The dough should be very sticky when done. This is good because focaccia dough is usually very hydrated.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and transfer the dough to a large and generously oiled mixing bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.

Using a rubber spatula, encourage gluten formation by folding the dough in on itself and pulling it away from the edges of the bowl.

For the Baking Process

Oil your rimmed baking sheet before transferring your dough to its oiled surface and fold the dough in on itself a few more times to encourage gluten development.

Begin shaping the dough to fit the size of your pan. If it shows resistance, oil it, cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes, and begin the shaping process again. Repeat as necessary. The dough should be ready to shape when it easily begins to drift to the edges of the pan without help.

Once shaped to the pan, liberally oil the top of the dough and cover in plastic wrap.

Ferment overnight in the fridge for about 12 hours.

Pop any large bubbles and pull the dough away from the sides of the pan to prevent sticking. With oiled fingers, tap the characteristic dimples on the top of the focaccia before drizzling with more olive oil.

Cover in plastic wrap and let the dough return to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven for 1 hour at 450° F.

Once the dough returns to room temperature, give it one last generous drizzle of olive oil and top with a sprinkle of salt flakes.

Bake in the oven until its surface is golden brown and dimpled, about half an hour.

If you’ve oiled it properly, the bread should pull away from the pan easily. If not, use a sharp spatula to ease it from the pan onto a wired cooling rack.

Let the loaf cool completely, about an hour and a half before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

For the Olive Oil Dip (optional)

Slice your cooled focaccia bread into thick strips to dip in a mixture of olive oil, salt, pepper, and freshly grated parmesan cheese.