Fougasse: Pierced French Flatbread
A triangular flatbread from southern France, scored with slits that help form a crisp crust. Often paired with flavors such as bacon and rosemary.
Ingredients
unbleached all-purpose flour (spoon flour into a dry-measure cup and level off)
5 1/2 cups
salt
2 1/2 teaspoons
active dry yeast
4 teaspoons (1 1/2 envelopes)
warm tap water (about 110°F (45°C))
2 cups
olive oil
4 tablespoons
Olive oil (for brushing the outside of the fougasse)
Instructions
1
Mix the dry ingredients
Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
2
Mix the wet ingredients
In another large mixing bowl, whisk the yeast into the water, then whisk in the oil.
3
Stir the dough
Use a large rubber spatula to stir about 2 cups of the flour and salt mixture into the liquid. Beat for a few seconds until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour mixture about 1 cup at a time, beating smooth after each addition. After the last of the flour has been absorbed, cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
4
Fold the dough
Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a floured work surface and use a bench scraper to fold the dough over onto itself several times to make it smoother and more elastic.
5
First rise
Place the dough in a clean oiled bowl and turn it over so that the top is oiled. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours, depending on the room temperature.
6
Divide the dough
After the dough has risen, invert it from the bowl onto a floured work surface. Use a bench scraper or a knife to divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
7
Shape the dough
Place the first piece of dough on a lightly floured work surface and gently press and stretch it into a triangle, about 8 inches (20 cm) across at the base, and about 12 inches (30 cm) long from the base to the top point. Fold the dough into thirds and transfer it to one of the prepared pans. Unfold the dough and even out the shape again. Use a pizza wheel to cut 3 to 4 diagonal slashes on either side of the median strip that bisects the triangle from top to base. Cover the fougasse with a towel and repeat with the remaining dough.
8
Second rise
Let the fougasses rest for about 10 minutes, then gently pull in both directions to make the fougasse a couple of inches wider and longer and to open up the slashes. Brush the fougasse with olive oil and cover again. Let the fougasses rise until they have doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
9
Preheat the oven
About 20 minutes before the fougasses are completely risen, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 450ºF (230ºC).
10
Bake
Bake the fougasses for about 10 minutes, then switch the pan in the lower third of the oven to the upper third and vice versa, turning each pan from back to front at the same time. Bake the fougasses until they are deep golden and firm, 10 to 15 additional minutes. Slide each fougasse onto a rack to cool.
