Focaccia

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 19:04:59 GMT

Step 1

In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

Step 2

Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

Step 3

Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

Step 4

At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats and a dish of water on the bottom rack.

Step 5

When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Liberally coat in olive oil. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Spread bread out in pan, coat fingers in olive oil and poke many holes in the bread. In a small bowl mix extra virgin olive oil water and coarse salt. Pour generously over top of bread and top with salt.

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