[ Equipment: slow cooker or oven, toaster. For more information about the terminology in this recipe, see Low Temperature Baking: A Journey of 3 Paths ].
Compared to my slow-rise, no-knead focaccia, this kneaded loaf starts off with a drier, but heavier dough, enriched with olive oil and parmesan cheese. It's deliciously soft, silky and savory, but with a mellow figgy sweetness in every bite. LTB preserves the taste of the olive oil, and there is a hint of olive fruitiness throughout. This loaf is also thicker than the no-knead version - 1-1/2 inches high vs. 3/4 inch. It's best served immediately, but keeps well enough that I like to eat it without toasting for the first day or two after baking. When toasted, the bread tastes something like Cheez-It crackers.
It's the drier dough that permits the thicker bread. An identical size loaf made with a wet, slow-rise dough would bake up with a coarse texture, because LTB doesn't vaporize the moisture quickly enough. The main disadvantage is that drier doughs must be kneaded. Wet, slow-rise doughs can develop gluten during the long rise without kneading, but drier doughs may rise poorly unless the gluten is developed first. In this recipe, the presence of olive oil, basil and cheese also weigh the dough down and hamper the rise.
This recipe takes double the amount of yeast than a wet, slow-rise dough. To boost the yeast activity, I reanimated (proofed) the granules in a sugar and water solution before mixing it into the dough. The risen dough is lumpier than the steamed dough, but the lumps add character to a focaccia. As I said above, the dough must be kneaded adequately to develop the gluten for the first rise, or it'll be be too stiff for the yeast to lift up.
The olive oil and ground hard cheese seem to extend the freshness of the bread, as good as and possibly a little better job than the water roux in the White Sandwich Bread recipe, in exchange for an enriched and flavored dough. The recipe specifies 1-1/2 teaspoons of olive oil. I did try a bread with 2-1/2 teaspoons of oil (and without the cheese). As expected, it tasted very rich, yet not oily, possibly a little firmer, yet silkier.
The parmesan cheese should be finely ground to blend into the dough. With grated parmesan, the heat of LTB can leave some bits unfused in the bread. The powdered parmesan sold in supermarket aisles may best in terms of texture, but not for flavor. I purchased grated parmesan, the kind sold in pouches in the refrigerated display cases and then finely ground it in my spice grinder. The recipe adds it just before the second rise, so that the first rise puffs up without the extra weight. If it dries out the dough, I mist my hands to knead in some moisture.
Prepare the Mission figs by first rehydrating them for 30 minutes in a bowl of hot water. Then cut the figs in quarters and flatten them to reduce their profile on top of the loaf. I flattened them with a pestle, but it's just as convenient to do it with the flat blade of a knife - the same way that garlic is flattened for mincing.
On the topic of garlic, cut out the green (sometimes light green or yellow) center shoot before mincing the clove (see the picture above). That center can taste bitter. In high temperature baking, the heat neutralizes the bitterness.
This recipe offers the option of dried or fresh basil and assumes one or the other, not both. However, each type must be prepared differently and is incorporated into the dough at different times and with different techniques. In the recipe, steps 5 to 8 show a dough containing chopped fresh basil. In the later steps, the dough contained dried basil and was topped with rehydrated dried basil. The technique for topping a loaf with rehydrated dried basil was first shown in my slow-rise, no-knead basil tomato focaccia.
The loaf in the pictures browned very nicely at LTB temperatures. To control the evaporation of moisture and ensure even baking, the pan was covered with aluminum foil and perforated with the same ventilation pattern seen in my slow-rise, no-knead basil tomato focaccia. It's designed to slow baking at the edges and promote baking at the center. The pan must be taller than the loaf in order for steam to circulate. The pan in the pictures stands 3-inches tall, twice the height of the loaf.
Makes 6 servings
- 140 calories per serving
- Oven Temperature: 250°F/121°C
Bread:
- 1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour (6.1 oz)
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup warm water (about 100°F/38°C)
- 1-1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 teaspoons fresh basil, roughly chopped or 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 5 dried figs (rehydrated, quartered and flattened - see text)
- 1 tablespoon finely ground parmesan cheese (see text)
- 1 teaspoon alkalized olive oil (see text and see below)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1. Put 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small dish. Mix with baking soda.
2. When ready, apply a thin coat with a pastry brush to the top surface of the bread.
Bread Method:
1. Combine yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in a small dish. Mix in 1/4 cup warm water and let sit in for 5 mins.
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, remaining sugar and 1 teaspoon of the dried basil (or add the chopped fresh basil in step 5) in a medium bowl until well combined. I used a 1-1/2 quart plastic container with separate lid.
3. Add olive oil and and the yeast water. With a fork, gently toss the flour and liquids (or rub them between the hands) to form a crumbly or piecemeal mixture. If the mixture begins clumping into a dough, pull the dough apart into small pieces.
4. Mix in the remaining warm water, one tablespoon at a time, to form a moist, pliable dough (about 2 to 3 tablespoons more for 6.1 oz of flour). Knead for 3 to 5 minutes until the dough can stretch about 12 inches without breaking, but is not melt-in-the-hands gooey. When a dough goes from stiff to gooey, it's a sign of over-kneading, caused by the collapse of gluten structure. My favorite kneading technique for this amount of dough is the taffy-pull method, in which the dough is held in both hands, stretched, folded back and repeated.
Test the dough for hydration and elasticity by slowly lifting a nub from the dough ball with a fork tine. It should stretch as shown in the picture above about an inch or more.
5. If using fresh basil, knead in 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh basil now. I shaped the dough into a disk for my flat-bottom container, so it's easier to check the rise height.
6. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 12 to 18 hrs. Doughs with rapid rise yeast will usually more than double (often more than triple) in bulk in 12 hours. Let rise for at least 12 hours to develop flavor.
7. Gently deflate, sprinkle on the cheese and knead in. If the cheese dries out the dough, add a little moisture by wetting the hands (shake off any excess) and kneading.
8. Grease a 7-inch springform pan or cake pan with removable bottom. Shape the dough into a 5-inch disk and let rise in a warm place for 3 to 4 hrs until the loaf is about 1-1/2 inches tall.
9. Brush the top of the loaf with alkalized olive oil.
10. Sprinkle on the minced garlic and remaining fresh chopped basil. To top with dried basil, rehydrate 1 teaspoon of dried basil with 2 teaspoons of hot water, drain, pick up bits of basil with a pastry brush and splatter over the loaf. (See the slow-rise, no-knead basil tomato focaccia recipe for detailed instructions).
11. Cover the top of the loaf with the sliced (and flattened) figs.
12. Cover the top of the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil and secure by tying it around the rim with string. With a knife, punch a 3/4-inch in the center of the foil. Then, with a 1/8-inch wood skewer, punch 8 holes, evenly spaced, about half way in from the rim.
13. Bake for 60 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a probe thermometer through the foil into the center of the loaf. The bread is ready if it reads around 205°F/96°C.
14. Cool for 10 minutes. Unmold. Continue cooling on a rack.
15. Slice and serve.
