Overnight Focaccia (instant yeast version)
This recipe borrows heavily from my sourdough focaccia recipe, except of course, we’re using instant yeast, not sourdough which is super handy. The long, cold fermentation time builds a beautiful chewy, sour flavour I love. It’s not like that sweet, almost cakey focaccia that the nineties threw at us for a while there.
If you would prefer to make a sourdough focaccia, I have a process for this on the blog too. Plus a few videos of how easy it is to use the one dough ‘recipe’ for loaves, focaccia, scrolls and more!
1 kg bread flour (high protein)
2 tsp instant yeast
800g room temperature water
1 tsp honey
20g salt
Step 1 (let’s say we’re starting at 6 pm)
Combine the flour, yeast, water and honey in a large bowl and with your hands, work the mixture together until you have a sticky, shaggy dough.
Cover with a tea towel and leave for 30 minutes.
Step 2 (6.30 pm)
Add the salt and 40g more of water and mix in with your hands again. Cover and leave for another 30 minutes.
Step 3 (7 pm-9 pm)
Now we will do 4 x ‘stretch and folds’ every half an hour for the next 2 hours. Start with damp hands and scoop about a quarter of the dough up from one side, stretch it up and fold over the rest. Spin the bowl a quarter turn, scoop and stretch, and repeat until you’ve done four folds. Cover the bowl again and leave for another half an hour.
Repeat this process three more times every half an hour.
Step 4 (9 pm)
Now we’re ready for the bulk fermentation stage, which means we will put the dough in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours to rise slowly.
Step 5 (7 am)
I would like my focaccia for lunch, so we’ll take the dough out of the fridge in the morning, turn it out onto a work surface and divide it into two. Shape each piece into a flat disc shape, cover it with a tea towel and leave for another half an hour.
Step 6 (7.30 am)
Drizzle a little olive oil into two medium-sized roasting tins and spread with your hands all over each base. Gently transfer the dough into tins; even gentler still, begin pressing and pushing it to fit. It probably won’t straight away, but that’s why we’ll leave it for a bit longer (a few hours) to relax.
Step 7 (11.30 am)
Preheat the oven to 200C. So we’ve waited four hours, but you could halve this time if it’s hot where/when you are. It’s not an exact science at this stage. We’re close to cooking, finally! So add whatever toppings you’re going with and gently push them into the dough. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and perhaps sprinkle with sea salt, depending on your toppings.
Once the oven is hot enough, cook your focaccia for 30 minutes or until puffed and deep golden.
Step 8 (12pm onwards)
Yum! You’re done. I so hope you enjoy this recipe, and please let me know if you have thoughts on how I could make it better, easier to follow, or anything.
Sophie x
Variations
Plum, fig and hazelnut
I read once that you might approach pressing into focaccia dough as though you’re playing the piano softly—gentle pressing rather than prodding. And because the dough will rise as it bakes, as we want it to, you really want to push your toppings quite deep into the dough, or they might pop up and burn as they cook.
This combination is peak Autumn goodness – the tang and colour of the plum, the deep sweetness of the fig and the toasted crunch of the hazelnut all tucked in among the sour, focaccia, golden from the oil and heat. Just so good.
I think that a big slab of this, warm and cut into small-ish squares, then piled onto a board with a soft goat’s cheese and perhaps a pickle or two (always a pickle), that would be a very good supper. Perhaps a dinner picnic up on the hill to smooth out the creases of the longest of weeks.
6 plums, halved, stones removed and cut into eighths
6 figs, halved and cut again into quarters
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
Olive oil and sea salt
Half an hour before cooking, press the plums, figs and hazelnuts quite deeply into the dough, remembering that as it cooks, the dough will rise and we don’t want our toppings popping ‘out’ and burning.
Just before putting it in the oven, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and gently press (play your piano softly!) your fingers into the dough to create little holes, and pools for the oil and plum and fig juices to puddle in as they cook.
Into the oven than for 25-30 minutes or until golden, puffed and glorious.
Overnight Focaccia (instant yeast version)
This recipe borrows heavily from my sourdough focaccia recipe, except of course, we’re using instant yeast, not sourdough which is super handy. The long, cold fermentation time builds a beautiful chewy, sour flavour I love. It’s not like that sweet, almost cakey focaccia that the nineties threw at us for a while there.
If you would prefer to make a sourdough focaccia, I have a process for this on the blog too. Plus a few videos of how easy it is to use the one dough ‘recipe’ for loaves, focaccia, scrolls and more!
1 kg bread flour (high protein)
2 tsp instant yeast
800g room temperature water
1 tsp honey
20g salt
Step 1 (let’s say we’re starting at 6 pm)
Combine the flour, yeast, water and honey in a large bowl and with your hands, work the mixture together until you have a sticky, shaggy dough.
Cover with a tea towel and leave for 30 minutes.
Step 2 (6.30 pm)
Add the salt and 40g more of water and mix in with your hands again. Cover and leave for another 30 minutes.
Step 3 (7 pm-9 pm)
Now we will do 4 x ‘stretch and folds’ every half an hour for the next 2 hours. Start with damp hands and scoop about a quarter of the dough up from one side, stretch it up and fold over the rest. Spin the bowl a quarter turn, scoop and stretch, and repeat until you’ve done four folds. Cover the bowl again and leave for another half an hour.
Repeat this process three more times every half an hour.
Step 4 (9 pm)
Now we’re ready for the bulk fermentation stage, which means we will put the dough in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours to rise slowly.
Step 5 (7 am)
I would like my focaccia for lunch, so we’ll take the dough out of the fridge in the morning, turn it out onto a work surface and divide it into two. Shape each piece into a flat disc shape, cover it with a tea towel and leave for another half an hour.
Step 6 (7.30 am)
Drizzle a little olive oil into two medium-sized roasting tins and spread with your hands all over each base. Gently transfer the dough into tins; even gentler still, begin pressing and pushing it to fit. It probably won’t straight away, but that’s why we’ll leave it for a bit longer (a few hours) to relax.
Step 7 (11.30 am)
Preheat the oven to 200C. So we’ve waited four hours, but you could halve this time if it’s hot where/when you are. It’s not an exact science at this stage. We’re close to cooking, finally! So add whatever toppings you’re going with and gently push them into the dough. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and perhaps sprinkle with sea salt, depending on your toppings.
Once the oven is hot enough, cook your focaccia for 30 minutes or until puffed and deep golden.
Step 8 (12pm onwards)
Yum! You’re done. I so hope you enjoy this recipe, and please let me know if you have thoughts on how I could make it better, easier to follow, or anything.
Sophie x
Variations
Plum, fig and hazelnut
I read once that you might approach pressing into focaccia dough as though you’re playing the piano softly—gentle pressing rather than prodding. And because the dough will rise as it bakes, as we want it to, you really want to push your toppings quite deep into the dough, or they might pop up and burn as they cook.
This combination is peak Autumn goodness – the tang and colour of the plum, the deep sweetness of the fig and the toasted crunch of the hazelnut all tucked in among the sour, focaccia, golden from the oil and heat. Just so good.
I think that a big slab of this, warm and cut into small-ish squares, then piled onto a board with a soft goat’s cheese and perhaps a pickle or two (always a pickle), that would be a very good supper. Perhaps a dinner picnic up on the hill to smooth out the creases of the longest of weeks.
6 plums, halved, stones removed and cut into eighths
6 figs, halved and cut again into quarters
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
Olive oil and sea salt
Half an hour before cooking, press the plums, figs and hazelnuts quite deeply into the dough, remembering that as it cooks, the dough will rise and we don’t want our toppings popping ‘out’ and burning.
Just before putting it in the oven, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and gently press (play your piano softly!) your fingers into the dough to create little holes, and pools for the oil and plum and fig juices to puddle in as they cook.
Into the oven than for 25-30 minutes or until golden, puffed and glorious.
Overnight Focaccia (instant yeast version)
This recipe borrows heavily from my sourdough focaccia recipe, except of course, we’re using instant yeast, not sourdough which is super handy. The long, cold fermentation time builds a beautiful chewy, sour flavour I love. It’s not like that sweet, almost cakey focaccia that the nineties threw at us for a while there.
If you would prefer to make a sourdough focaccia, I have a process for this on the blog too. Plus a few videos of how easy it is to use the one dough ‘recipe’ for loaves, focaccia, scrolls and more!
1 kg bread flour (high protein)
2 tsp instant yeast
800g room temperature water
1 tsp honey
20g salt
Step 1 (let’s say we’re starting at 6 pm)
Combine the flour, yeast, water and honey in a large bowl and with your hands, work the mixture together until you have a sticky, shaggy dough.
Cover with a tea towel and leave for 30 minutes.
Step 2 (6.30 pm)
Add the salt and 40g more of water and mix in with your hands again. Cover and leave for another 30 minutes.
Step 3 (7 pm-9 pm)
Now we will do 4 x ‘stretch and folds’ every half an hour for the next 2 hours. Start with damp hands and scoop about a quarter of the dough up from one side, stretch it up and fold over the rest. Spin the bowl a quarter turn, scoop and stretch, and repeat until you’ve done four folds. Cover the bowl again and leave for another half an hour.
Repeat this process three more times every half an hour.
Step 4 (9 pm)
Now we’re ready for the bulk fermentation stage, which means we will put the dough in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours to rise slowly.
Step 5 (7 am)
I would like my focaccia for lunch, so we’ll take the dough out of the fridge in the morning, turn it out onto a work surface and divide it into two. Shape each piece into a flat disc shape, cover it with a tea towel and leave for another half an hour.
Step 6 (7.30 am)
Drizzle a little olive oil into two medium-sized roasting tins and spread with your hands all over each base. Gently transfer the dough into tins; even gentler still, begin pressing and pushing it to fit. It probably won’t straight away, but that’s why we’ll leave it for a bit longer (a few hours) to relax.
Step 7 (11.30 am)
Preheat the oven to 200C. So we’ve waited four hours, but you could halve this time if it’s hot where/when you are. It’s not an exact science at this stage. We’re close to cooking, finally! So add whatever toppings you’re going with and gently push them into the dough. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and perhaps sprinkle with sea salt, depending on your toppings.
Once the oven is hot enough, cook your focaccia for 30 minutes or until puffed and deep golden.
Step 8 (12pm onwards)
Yum! You’re done. I so hope you enjoy this recipe, and please let me know if you have thoughts on how I could make it better, easier to follow, or anything.
Sophie x
Variations
Plum, fig and hazelnut
I read once that you might approach pressing into focaccia dough as though you’re playing the piano softly—gentle pressing rather than prodding. And because the dough will rise as it bakes, as we want it to, you really want to push your toppings quite deep into the dough, or they might pop up and burn as they cook.
This combination is peak Autumn goodness – the tang and colour of the plum, the deep sweetness of the fig and the toasted crunch of the hazelnut all tucked in among the sour, focaccia, golden from the oil and heat. Just so good.
I think that a big slab of this, warm and cut into small-ish squares, then piled onto a board with a soft goat’s cheese and perhaps a pickle or two (always a pickle), that would be a very good supper. Perhaps a dinner picnic up on the hill to smooth out the creases of the longest of weeks.
6 plums, halved, stones removed and cut into eighths
6 figs, halved and cut again into quarters
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skins rubbed off
Olive oil and sea salt
Half an hour before cooking, press the plums, figs and hazelnuts quite deeply into the dough, remembering that as it cooks, the dough will rise and we don’t want our toppings popping ‘out’ and burning.
Just before putting it in the oven, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and gently press (play your piano softly!) your fingers into the dough to create little holes, and pools for the oil and plum and fig juices to puddle in as they cook.
Into the oven than for 25-30 minutes or until golden, puffed and glorious.
Confit garlic and rosemary
For the confit;
Take one head of garlic and carefully peel every clove. Pop in a small saucepan and cover with 2 cups of olive oil. Place over the lowest heat possible and cook for 30 minutes or so. You want the garlic cloves to have turned a light golden colour.
Grab a medium-sized jar and place in it a sprig of thyme or rosemary, then pour in the garlic cloves and oil. Seal and store in the fridge.
For the focaccia;
Follow the recipe above. Right before you are ready to bake, dot the top of your lovely bubbly dough with about 10 cloves of the confit garlic and drizzle with the olive oil. Top with a few sprigs of rosemary and bake until golden.
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