Since the start of the pandemic in the U.S., I have been baking sourdough breads. Every week, I make a whole wheat cinnamon raisin swirl loaf using the “discard” from the sourdough (the portion of the sourdough starter that is leftover after you feed your starter). Sometimes, I just make it using the sourdough that has been sitting for a few days after it’s been fed. Regardless, it always comes out great.
Every few weeks, I make a sourdough rye boule, a round loaf that I let sit in a banneton, a vessel made out of cane, that leaves flour rings on the loaf and looks very pretty. Here it is unbaked out of the banneton, and then slashed and baked.
But this week, I felt like doing something different. Instead of using my sourdough starter, I used instant yeast. Instead of making a loaf or a round boule, I made a fougasse. Fougasse is sometimes called a French Provencal version of Italian foccacia. But truth be told, the dough is different and it doesn’t have as much olive oil as foccacia.
A fougasse is a type of bread that is shaped or slashed into a pattern that looks like a sheaf of wheat or a leaf. It’s not hard to make, and it looks rather impressive. For my first one, I am satisfied with how it looks, though next time, I’ll do better. And it tastes delicious!
I used the King Arthur Flour recipe for Olive and Onion Fougasse. Because I didn’t have any kalamata olives, I left them out and just used onion. I’m not a kalamata olive fan anyway, but next time if I have other black olives, I will add them.
Though there are sourdough fougasse recipes, this recipe using instant yeast appealed to me because you make a “poolish” the night before. A poolish is a highly fluid yeast cultured dough, pre-ferment or sponge that is often used in French baking. It’s made with flour, water and a little bit of yeast. I left mine in a covered bowl on top of the refrigerator overnight. I wish I had taken a photo of it this morning because it was bubbly and looked a lot like sourdough.
I first diced half a big onion, and sautéed it in butter. I let it cool down while I started putting together the dough.
I added a cup of bread flour and a cup of whole wheat flour along with more water to the bubbly poolish and mixed it into a shaggy dough. Then it rested for 20 minutes. Afterwards, I added more yeast, salt and olive oil and kneaded the dough briefly in my stand mixer.
Then I placed it in a lightly oiled covered bowl, and I put it back on top of the refrigerator to rise for an hour and a half, deflating it and turning it after 45 minutes.
I shaped the dough into an oval about 12″ x 6″. Next time, I will use a rolling pin to smooth out the dough a bit. This time, I just used my hands so it looked a bit more rustic. I placed the oval dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet, covered it with a dish towel, and put it back on top of the fridge for 30 minutes to rise.
Now for the exciting part: shaping the fougasse. I was on the phone with a friend I hadn’t seen or talked to in over a year. I should have called her back, but I didn’t want to interrupt her. So, I took a blade that I use to slash the top of my boules, and I made a slash that went from an inch from the top to an inch from the bottom. Then I made 4 slashes on each side of the central slash (but not touching it). I discovered that the blade didn’t go all the way through (I was afraid of cutting into my baking sheet) so I used a clean pair of scissors to cut where I had slashed. Next time, I will make sure that the slashes on either side are balanced instead of random the way I did it this time!
To make it look like a leaf, I spread apart the slashes to about an inch or so (it was supposed to be 2 inches), but I had reached the sides of the baking sheet. Next time, I’ll use a bigger baking sheet. Then, I re-covered the dough and let it rise again for about 40 minutes.
I preheated the oven to 400 degrees toward the end of the final rise. Before placing the fougasse into the oven, I decided to brush it with olive oil.
I baked the fougasse for 20 minutes.
Then I took it out of the oven and put it on a rack to cool slightly. The fougasse is meant to be eaten warm. I tore off part of the leaf, dipped it in more olive oil, and it was scrumptious. Here’s what the crumb inside looks like.
It is an easy bread to make, though it requires a bit of planning. It’s best to be made on a day that you’ll be home. I think a family would easily eat it all in one day. But it can keep wrapped for up to 3 days, or it can be frozen for up to a month. Since Jeff isn’t here to try it, I think I will freeze what’s left so he can try it. Or maybe I’ll make another one on Friday since it’s supposed to snow.
I hope you’ll consider making a fougasse for yourself. It’s fun and yummy!
Ingredients
Poolish (starter)
- 1 cup (120g) unbleached bread flour
- 1/2 cup (113g) water
- 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast (I like Red Star)
Filling
- 1 tablespoon (14g) butter
- 1/2 cup (142g) diced onions
- 1/2 cup (71g) pitted Kalamata or other black olives, roughly chopped (optional)
Dough
- 1/2 cup (113g) water
- 1 cup (120g) unbleached bread flour
- 1 cup (113g) whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 2 tablespoons (25g) olive oil
- Mix up the poolish, and put it in a covered bowl overnight in a warm dry place.
- The next day, dice the onions and sauté in butter till golden. Let cool.
- Add 1/2 c. water, 1 cup each of bread flour and whole wheat flour to the poolish and mix. Let mixture rest for 20 minutes.
- Add yeast, salt and olive oil and knead briefly till mixed. Add in cooled onions and olives, if using, and knead 3 minutes in a stand mixer or 5 minutes by hand. You’re looking for a supple dough but it doesn’t have to be highly elastic.
- Place into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let the dough rise for 90 minutes, deflating and turning the dough after the first 45 minutes.
- Shape the dough into an oval about 12″ x 6″. You can roll it lightly with a rolling pin if you like it to be smooth. Place onto a lightly oiled baking sheet or a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover and let the dough rise 30 minutes.
- Take a knife, bread blade or scissors and make a single slit that goes one inch from the top to one inch from the bottom. Then make 3 or 4 balanced slashes on either side of the central slash to look like the veins of a leaf.
- Spread out the slashes to about 2″ ovals or slashes to make the bread look more like a leaf. Cover and let the dough rise for 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degree. Bake in the center rack for 20 minutes or till golden brown. Cool somewhat on a rack, but eat it warm with or without olive oil dip.
- Wrap to store at room temperature for 3 days or freeze for up to a month.
I am so impressed! I can’t make bread to save my life. I can bake other things and cook like a pro but bread making is way out of my wheelhouse. I have great admiration for your skills. Thanks for sharing especially the photos.
Mary, thank you so much! I started baking no-knead bread at least 10 years ago, and that was so easy with such great results. Over the years, I have tried other breads and recipes, getting into sourdough last year at the start of the pandemic. If you own a stand mixer, it’s a cinch. I’ll bet you could make the fougasse. The next time I make it, I’ll use a larger baking sheet so I can open up the inside of the holes more, as they are supposed to be. But otherwise, all you need is to be around to do little things to the dough every now and then 🙂
Wow, Allison– your breads are just extraordinary, and my mouth is watering! Thank you kindly for sharing your recipe!
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Thank you so much xoxo
WOW you have been a very busy woman making breads. This onion fougasse looks so good. Do you ever cut you a piece from hot loaf and just apply to it? I am NOT a baker so all I can do is look at the pictures and hope someone brings me home made bread.
Heck, if you weren’t so far away, Gloria, I’d bring you some homemade bread! I really enjoy it, especially during the winter when I’m in the house more than during the summer. I make bread every week, and I’ve been doing it for about 10 years. I did cut the fougasse about 15 minutes after it came out of the oven, and I ate some after dipping it into olive oil. It was delicious. I had some more tonight with dinner. Fougasse is best eaten warm. As much as I love warm bread, you’re actually not supposed to cut into it for 2 HOURS!!! Cutting it makes it collapse, but you are right that hot bread with butter is one of life’s delights!
I am in awe of you. I am barely up to the task of microwave items that require one to take them out and stir them before heating them again.
Thank you, thank you, Gabrielle! As always, I am laughing as I read your comment as I can hear you saying it in my head 😉 I’ll bet you could make a fougasse – all it takes is being around often and on while it’s doing its thing!
People who can cook (my mother was an extraordinary cook too) always say things like that. “Oh, it’s so easy.” Ha! Fiddlesticks! All I have to do to create disaster is put a pot on the stove. If I put anything in it, it’s time to call in a Hazmat team!
LOL!!! I learned to cook by using recipes in cookbooks (back in the day) and by watching TV cooking shows. I’m kind of amazed that those two methods worked! I like to eat, unfortunately, and I didn’t have a lot of money, so that was the solution 😀
Beautiful looking fougasse. I bet it tasted good too. I used to bake all the time but stopped baking when the kids grew up and moved out. Nothing like warm homemade bread with soup or chili.
Thank you xoxo It’s true, Sandi. Bread is so comforting on a cold day. I heated up a couple of slices of the fougasse in the microwave tonight and dipped it in olive oil – so delicious! I make bread just for me for something to do, especially in the winter when I’m around the house more often. Also, I like my bread better than buying it at the supermarket because I know exactly what’s in it.
I’m so impressed. I love that you have the ambition to do this. While I’m not an onion (or olive) fan my husband would absolutely love this bread. Bravo to you.
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