If high-hydration dough frightens you, focaccia is the cure. It is wetter than anything you would shape into a loaf, and that does not matter at all, because the pan does the shaping for you.
Overnight focaccia
One 23 × 33 cm tray · serves 6, or 2 if nobody is watching
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | 500 | 100% |
| Water | 400 | 80% |
| Instant yeast | 4 | 0.8% |
| Salt | 11 | 2.2% |
| Olive oil (in the dough) | 20 | 4% |
| Olive oil (pan and top) | 60 | — |
Timeline
- Mix everything except the oil until no dry flour remains. It will look like porridge; that is correct.
- Rest 30 minutes, then add 20 g oil and squeeze it in.
- Three sets of coil folds, 30 minutes apart.
- Cover and refrigerate 12–48 hours. Longer means more flavour and bigger bubbles.
- Tip into an oiled 23 × 33 cm pan. Let it relax and spread for 2–3 hours at room temperature.
- Oil your fingers, dimple all the way to the bottom, add toppings, bake at 230 °C for 25 minutes.
Dimpling is the fun part
Press straight down with oiled fingertips until you touch the pan. Do it with conviction. The dimples hold pools of oil that fry the top of the dough into something crisp and golden.
Good toppings: olives, halved cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, rosemary, flaky salt. Bad toppings: anything wet that will steam the dough, such as raw courgette.
Use more olive oil than feels reasonable. Then a little more.
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