I’ve always wanted to bake a fougasse and finally got around to it today. We are having dinner guests, one of whom is an accomplished home baker who I know loves crusty breads. Well what is fougasse if not a bread with a lot of crust. I found this recipe for fougasse in Maurizio Leo’s book The Perfect Loaf and decided to try it out. I didn’t follow his instructions and instead made changes to the process that I thought would work better for me.
MIX THE LEVAIN: Warm or cool the water to about 78°F (25°C). In a medium jar, mix the levain ingredients until well incorporated (this liquid levain will feel quite loose) and loosely cover. Store in a warm place for 12 hours.
Strain and dry the chopped Kalamata olives. Add 2 g of dried oregano to the Kalamata olives.
When the levain has peaked, to the water, add the levain and dissolve, then add salt and olive oil, then whole wheat flour and mix, finally add bread flour. After 10 mins of autolyse, slap and fold to develop the dough moderately. Towards the end of mixing add the Kalamata olives and oregano through stretch and folds.
At 30 min intervals give the dough coil folds. After the third set give the dough 1 hour 30 mins rest.
To remove the dough from the bowl drizzle olive oil onto and around the edges of the dough. Then gently rub the olive oil over the surface and around the sides. In the bowl flip the dough to oil the bottom of the dough.
Transfer the dough to a parchment lined tray, smooth side up and gently stretch the dough out into a rough triangle. Allow to proof for 1 and a half to 2 hours. 30 mins prior to the end of proof pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
The dough should pass the finger poke test when ready to bake. Prior to baking cut the dough into the desired shape.
After baking brush with olive oil.
In the photos I have not yet brushed the fougasse with olive oil. I will heat the bread again in the oven just prior to serving and will brush with olive oil then.
