No-knead focaccia
Twenty minutes of hands on work spread across a day, and no kneading at any point.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Yield
- Makes one 30x40 cm tray
- Going in
- Easy, but plan ahead
- Steps
- 5
An overnight cold rise does two things: it builds flavour, and it means the day you actually bake is short. Start it the evening before you want it.
Use more olive oil than feels correct. The bottom of the tray should be properly wet with it, which is what fries the base while the top bakes.
Method 5 steps
-
Mix, the night before 5 min
Stir the flour, water, yeast and salt together in a large bowl with a spoon until no dry flour remains. It will be a wet, shaggy mess. That is correct.
-
Four folds, then the fridge 1 h
Over the next hour, four times at fifteen minute intervals, wet a hand and fold the dough over on itself four times, turning the bowl a quarter each fold.
Cover and refrigerate overnight, eight to sixteen hours.
The folds do the work kneading would. Wet hands are the difference between folding dough and wearing it.
-
Into the tray 3 h
Pour the olive oil into the tray and spread it to the corners. Tip the cold dough in, turn it once to coat, and stretch it gently towards the edges. It will resist and spring back.
Leave it, covered, until it relaxes and fills the tray, two to four hours at room temperature.
-
Dimple 5 min
Oil your fingers and press straight down through the dough to the tray, all over, so it is covered in deep dimples. Scatter with flaky salt and rosemary.
Press to the bottom. Shy dimples disappear in the oven.
-
Bake 25 min
Oven to 230 C, fan. Bake for twenty to twenty five minutes until the top is deep gold and the edges have gone dark and crisp where they met the oil.
Lift it out of the tray onto a rack straight away.
Leaving it in the tray steams the base soft. The rack keeps it crisp.