Focaccia con Rosmarino e Parmigiano
I’ve never made bread with a ‘preferment’ before so I decided to try it for another focaccia. What a difference it made. The bread was super tasty, chewy, with a lovely crispy crust and those traditional ‘air pockets’ that really make a focaccia.
I made this focaccia with a preferment know as ‘poolish’. The poolish was made the night before (only takes a few minutes to make) and is then left for about 8-12 hours until you use it.
The result is amazing and I have to say this is the best focaccia I have made so far!
Mangia, mangia! 👩🏻🍳
Focaccia con rosmarino e parmigiano recipe:
Poolish
200g plain flour
250ml water
1/4 tsp instant/fast action dry yeast
Final dough
200g OO flour
3/4 tsp instant/fast action dry yeast
90ml water
4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Topping
Couple of tbsps rosemary leaves
30g parmesan or pecorino
Extra oil for drizzling
1. The night before make the preferment i.e poolish by mixing the flour, water and yeast in a large bowl until it’s well combined. Cover with clingfilm and leave in your kitchen. Mark where it’s at so you can see how much it’s risen the following day. Note you need to leave this a minimum of at least 8 hrs to 12 hrs.
2. The next day the poolish should have risen and be bubbly. In a food mixer add the yeast, water then the poolish, flour and finally the salt in that order. Note - give this mixture a quick mix with your spatula to incorporate everything before using your food mixer.
3. Attach a dough hook to your mixer. I used my kitchen aid for the dough and on low/medium (speed 2/3) mix the dough for about 5 mins then add all the olive oil and continue mixing for about another 4-5 mins. Note your dough will be very wet which is normal.
4. Light oil a large bowl and very gently tip your dough into it and use a spatula to gently coax it in. Cover and let it rise for anything between 1-2 hrs in a warm place.
5. Once the dough has doubled in size, line your baking tray with greaseproof paper and brush with oil ( I used one that was 30 cm x 22 cm ) and gently tip your dough into it, again using a spatula to gently coax it in.
6. Cover it for its 2nd rise of about 40-45 mins.
7. After this time add a tbsp of oil to the surface and very gently push the dough to the edges so its covering the tin. Note do this gently as you want to keep as many air bubbles as possible. Cover with cling film for its final rise of about 30 mins.
8. In meantime preheat your oven to 210C fan. Get your topping ready - finely chop the rosemary and grate the cheese.
9. Uncover the dough and make dimples all over with your fingertips. Sprinkle lightly with salt and scatter the parmesan, finishing off with a sprinkle of rosemary. Drizzle all over with oil.
10. Bake in the oven for 30 mins, turning the tin halfway into cooking. The top should be golden brown and crispy when ready.
11. Remove the bread from the tin and let it cool on a wire rack and drizzle over some more oil before serving.
