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pandemic focaccia

a sweet, savory, spicy and luxurious focaccia to weather a once in a lifetime global pandemic. or just to eat casually on a monday night to treat yoself.

formula

dough formula
  • 180 g king arthur all purpose flour
  • 60 g king arthur bread flour
  • 60 g any low protein flour, like whole wheat
  • 240 g water, 90-95°F
  • 7 g sea salt
  • 60 g discard starter
to top, pre-bake
  • 230 g ricotta
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4 g coarse salt
  • 9 g extra virgin olive oil
to top, post-bake
  • 1/2 large onion, caramelized (more if desired)
  • 1 tbsp red pepper chili flakes
  • 1 tbsp raw honey

method

9 pm: make dough
10 pm: bulk fermentation
  • this dough needs an overnight bulk rise of about 12 hours.
[next morning] 9:20 am: prepare the onions
  • julienne the onions. add 1-2 tbsp of butter to a skillet on low to medium heat. add onions and cook low and slow for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally until onions turn transluscent and then turn a caramel color.
9:30 am: preheat
  • preheat oven to 500°F. this takes a while for my oven so i usually do it 30-45 minutes before i plan to bake. at this point the dough should be jiggly and bubbly!
10 am: shape
  • generously oil the bottom of a 9x13 metal pan. turn the dough out carefully onto the greased pan.
  • using your fingers or knuckles, gently stretch the dough to the shape of the pan, until about 1/2 to 1 inch thick, dimpling the dough in the process.
  • let rest about 5-10 minutes
10:10 am: top, pre-bake
  • take tablespoon-fulls of ricotta and plop evenly on top of focaccia into the dimples. i like to densely spoon ricotta to get a pizza-like focaccia. add as much or as little as you'd like.
  • sprinkle coarse salt and rosemary to taste, on top of dimpled dough. then, drizzle olive oil.
10:15 am: bake
  • bake at 500°F until the top becomes golden brown, usually for 15 - 20 minutes depending on your oven. if you make a double recipe baking time can increase to about 25 minutes.
10:35 am: top, post-bake
  • remove baked focaccia onto a cooling rack. using tongs (or another utensil), gently distribute your caramelized onions on top. sprinkle with red pepper flakes, to taste.
  • let cool for at least 5 minutes, and drizzle honey on top before slicing and serving.