You say potay-to, I say pot-ah-to. You say focaccia, I say fougasse. Fougasse is usually described because the southeastern French equal of Italian focaccia, a basic nation bread from Provence (a heat area in southwestern France) made with a moist dough, usually repurposed (from baguettes or sourdough, as an example). The attribute form of fougasse — normally resembling sand {dollars}, a ladder, or (most frequently) a triangular leaf with an extended central “vein” lower surrounded by brief angled ones —units it aside visually from focaccia, with the additional advantage of making extra floor space and thus extra crispy crust.
We turned to our buddies at Le Mary Celeste, the famed Parisian oyster and cocktail bar within the 4th arrondissement’s trendy Marais district, to deliver their tackle this basic French bread to life of their Ooni oven. (The spot is called after a well-known Nineteenth-century ghost ship that sailed from New York and was discovered adrift and deserted with simply alcohol aboard, however after testing this recipe ourselves, we will’t assist however reimagine the bread there.)
This crispy fougasse is served every day at Le Mary Celeste as a substitute for the straightforward sourdough they obtain from the native boulangerie. We are able to vouch that it is also scrumptious the following day, toasted (if there’s any leftover). We notably benefit from the contrasting flavors of the garnish, the candy confit kumquats and salty olives battling it out with every chew via the crunchy herbed floor, oil-crisped backside, and tender, springy middle.
We’ve demonstrated a easy strategy shape-wise to fougasse on this recipe however be at liberty to cut back the quantity of dough by 1 / 4 and experiment with totally different patterns of slits. Simply use a steel bench scraper or pizza cutter to slice straight via (5 slits radiating outward, 4 parallel cuts, or one central “vein” lower with small angled parallel slits radiating outward) and gently pull the cuts a bit aside with out urgent the dough.
Observe: The pan and bread get highly regarded, so remember to maintain a pair of oven gloves close by, and use the detachable steel deal with if cooking with an Ooni cast-iron skillet.
Time
Lively time: 10 to fifteen minutes
Proof time: 2 hours
Yield
Serves 5 to six as a facet
Tools
Ooni Cast Iron Skillet Pan or some other appropriate 9 to 12” skillet pan
Ooni Pizza Oven
Ooni Infrared Thermometer
Ooni gloves
Substances
12 kumquats
75 grams (2.6 ounces) extra-virgin olive oil, plus further for greasing
3 to 4 bay leaves
500 grams (17.6 ounces) t55 or bread flour
15 grams (1 tablespoon) tremendous sea salt
7g (1.5 teaspoons) sugar
400 grams (14.1 ounces) room temperature water (38°C/100°F is ideal)
7 grams (1.5 teaspoons) recent baker’s yeast
15 kalamata olives, pitted
Pinch of dried oregano, basil, or verbena
Pinch of flaky sea salt (ideally Maldon)
Methodology
Halve the kumquats lengthwise, take away the seeds, and place them in a small pot with olive oil and bay leaves. Prepare dinner over medium warmth till the oil bubbles (5 minutes), then take away from the warmth. The kumquats will confit (cook dinner slowly at a low temperature within the oil), sustaining texture whereas getting imbued with the flavour of the bay leaves. When the combination cools, pressure out the kumquats, reserving the infused oil.
Place the flour, tremendous sea salt, and sugar in a big bowl. Combine by hand till mixed. In a separate bowl, add the water and recent yeast, then whisk totally and add to the flour combination, folding it collectively by hand. In case you like, add somewhat olive oil to the facet of the bowl to assist slide the dough into the pan.
Grease the cast-iron skillet with olive oil. Switch the dough to the skillet, and utilizing the ideas of your fingers, press in 5 or 6 occasions to make small holes all through. Organize the confit kumquat and olives evenly within the holes and drizzle liberally with the reserved infused oil. Proof for two hours at room temperature, coated with a lid or a kitchen towel.
When able to bake, hearth up your Ooni pizza oven to 300°C (572°F). Test the temperature shortly and precisely utilizing the Ooni Infrared Thermometer. Sprinkle the dried herbs and a pinch of sea salt over the floor of the fougasse (be aware that the olives will add saltiness).
Now that it’s proofed and garnished, the fougasse is able to cook dinner. Place it on the mouth of the oven and maintain an in depth eye on the pan. Rotate it utilizing the steel deal with and gloves each 2 minutes, for a complete of 8 (and not more than 11) minutes till the highest is a medium brown (the olive oil will fry the underside of the bread).
Take away the pan and let the bread relaxation for 3 minutes, then switch to a chopping board and let cool for 10 minutes earlier than chopping. Watch out to not burn your self because the bread shall be scorching!
Slice and revel in this conventional vacation deal with, as it’s recent out of the oven, or toasted the following day and unfold with butter.
