Chili Oil Focaccia
This has to be downright one of the easiest bread recipes there ever was…
Focaccia is often associated with home-baking, and for good reason: it’s hard to mess it up.
Since there’s not shaping and it’s baked in a pan, there’s really no fuss over it. Once the dough is done fermenting, you just dump it in the pan, dimple it with oil, and wait for it to proof.
The dough itself is the same as my ciabatta recipe.
That’s right! You don’t need a special “focaccia” dough. It is just a dough with a high hydration, or high water content. This recipe has an 80% hydration, which means that the ratio of water to flour is 8:10. My country sourdough, for example, as a hydration level of 70%.
The high hydration is how you get those air pockets in your dough. If you’re feeling bold you can add even more hydration to the dough, but I don’t find this necessary. (As I always say, “Say NO to high hydration.”)
And like with the ciabatta, we are going to handle the dough as little as possible (and when we do handle it, we will wet our hands). We will mix the dough, perform at least three stretch and folds, allow to ferment for 2-4 hours, plop into our pan, and dimple with oil. Then, we will wait for the dough to proof for another 1-3 hours and then we bake!
As you can see, like with most sourdough recipes, most of the time is inactive. Sourdough is all about patience!
This recipe should be done in one day as the inoculation, or the amount of sourdough starter, is quite high (over 50%). If you want to proof the focaccia overnight in the fridge, you can lower the inoculation to 20-30%, or 100 - 150 grams of sourdough starter.
And before we forget… the chili oil is the star of the show!
Chili oil is the only oil for me…
Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but I don’t usually eat oily foods. There are two exceptions: chili oil and Indian pickle, or achar (maybe it’s achar’s time to shine in the next focaccia). I just love the spicy tanginess of these condiments! And, last time I made a big batch of chili oil, I thought, wouldn’t this be great for focaccia?
And, it was.
I included a basic recipe for chili oil below, but you can use any chili oil you like, homemade or storebought.
Chili Oil Sourdough Focaccia
Ingredients
- 220 grams neutral oil (1 cup)
- 200 grams chopped onion (1 large onion)
- 120 grams gochugaru or mild red chili flakes (1 cup)
- 30 grams miso (2 tablespoons)
- 250 grams active sourdough starter*
- 320 grams water
- 7 grams salt
- 100 grams white whole wheat flour*
- 300 grams bread flour
Instructions
- Make the chili oil: Heat up a large cast iron pan. Once the pan is hot, add the onions and oil. Fry until the onions are softened. Then, add the chili flakes and miso. Mix the miso in and fry for at least five minutes. Store in the fridge. It should last several months.
- Make the dough: Mix the active sourdough starter, water, and salt in a large mixing bowl (2.5 quart is ideal).
- Add in the white whole wheat and the bread flour and mix, mix, mix until it becomes a shaggy dough. Make sure it is well incorporated because we are not going to mix with our hands.
- Cover and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes. You will perform at least three stretch and folds in twenty-minute intervals. This will develop the gluten.
- After 20 minutes, perform your first stretch and fold. Wet your hands and take one corner of the dough and stretch it out as far as you can without ripping the dough. Stop when you feel the dough start to tug back. Fold this piece over onto the dough. Continue for all four corners. Allow to rest for another 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, perform the second stretch and fold in the same way you did the first. Wait another 20 minutes and perform your third stretch and fold.
- If you are uncertain if the gluten has developed, perform a windowpane test. Stretch the dough until you can see light coming through it. If it breaks, then the gluten needs more development, and you can perform a fourth stretch and fold. If it doesn’t break, then you can start the bulk fermentation (or first rise).
- Allow the dough to rise for 2-4 hours. The amount of time the dough needs to rise will depend on the strength of the starter, the temperature, and the flours used. The dough should double in size (if using a 2.5-quart bowl, it will nearly fill the bowl).
- Once the dough has risen, you can dump it into a parchment lined pan.
- Use 2-3 tablespoons of the chili oil to dimple the dough. Pour the chili oil on the dough and use your fingers to spread it and dimple into the dough. As you are doing this, you can spread the dough out in the pan to make it more even. Allow to proof for 1-3 hours, or until the dough bubbles up and becomes jiggly.
- Once almost ready to bake, preheat to 475 Fahrenheit.
- Bake at 450 F for 20 minutes. Then, bake at 425 F for 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
- Enjoy your delicious sourdough focaccia! In my experience, focaccia doesn’t stay fresh for as long as the loaves, so I would suggest freezing whatever you can’t finish in 1-2 days. You can slice before freezing and toast the sliced pieces right from the freezer.
Notes
Supplies
2.5 Quart Mixing Bowl with Cover
Fork for mixing
Kitchen Scale
9x13-inch Cast Iron Pan
Parchment Paper or Silicone Mat
9-inch frying pan for chili oil
- You might use more or less sourdough starter based on the temperature of your room. Use more sourdough in the winter and less sourdough in the summer if the temperature of your house fluctuates.
- White whole wheat flour is simply a lighter version of whole wheat flour. You can use regular whole wheat flour in place of white whole wheat flour if you do not have access to it. Alternatively, you can use all bread flour.
- If you have access to it, I like to replace the miso with doubanjiang. It is a Sichuan fava bean paste. It's like miso, but has a stronger, spicier flavor.
