Mini Focaccia Loaves - Crisp, Airy, and No-Knead

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Mini Focaccia Loaves - Crisp, Airy, and No-Knead

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Resting and Proofing Time3 45

Total Time4 10

Course: Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: mini loaves

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Chula King

Equipment

medium bowl
Danish dough whisk
8-cavity loaf pan (2 ¼ x 3 ½ x 1 inch cavities)
silicone brush
Plastic Wrap

Ingredients

2 cups (10 ounces, 280 grams) all-purpose flour (See Tip 1)
1¼ teaspoons fine sea salt or table salt
¾ teaspoon granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon instant yeast (See Tip 2)
1 cup (8 ounces, 240 grams) warm water – 95 to 105°F (See Tip 3)
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
½ teaspoon Flaky sea salt for topping.

Instructions

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Add warm water and 1 tablespoon olive oil; stir with a Danish dough whisk, silicone spatula, or wooden spoon until no dry flour remains (about 1 minute). The dough will look shaggy and sticky. (See Tip 4)
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest and hydrate for 15 minutes.
With a wet hand, grab one side of the dough, gently stretch it up, and fold it toward the center of the bowl. Rotate the bowl and repeat 8 to 10 times. Turn the dough over, smooth side up. Re-cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Repeat the stretch-and-fold 3 more times, 15 minutes apart. After the 4th stretch-and-fold, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for an hour.
Add ½ teaspoon of olive oil to each pan cavity. Brush the bottom and sides of the pan with the olive oil. (See Tip 5)
Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper that has been brushed with olive oil. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions, around 66 grams each. Transfer to the prepared pan and turn to coat with olive oil. Don't worry about the dough reaching all of the corners - it will expand as it relaxes.
Cover the pan and let the dough rise for 1 hour and 45 minutes, or until visible bubbles appear under the surface, the dough looks pillowy, and jiggles like soft gelatin when you shake the pan.
Preheat the oven to 475°F. (See Tip 6)
Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top of the dough. With oiled fingertips, press straight down to the bottom of the pan, making deep dimples approximately 1 inch apart. Sprinkle the top with flaky salt.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges are browned.
Remove from the oven; allow to cool in the pan for 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 mini focaccia loaves.

Video

Notes

For best results, weigh your ingredients. The quantity of flour can vary significantly depending on how it’s measured. My rule of thumb, following Julia Child’s example, is that 1 cup of flour weighs 5 ounces.
Instant yeast, sometimes sold as bread machine yeast, can be added directly to the ingredients, unlike active dry yeast, which must be bloomed before adding.
Use filtered water rather than tap water. The reason is that tap water contains chlorine, which can retard yeast growth.
Avoid using a regular whisk to make the dough. The reason is that most of the dough will end up in the middle of the whisk, making a mess.
The mini loaf pan that I used had cavities that measured 2 ¼ x 3 ½ x 1 inch. I purchased it from Michaels, but comparable pans should be available online.
The dough can be prepared up to this point in advance and refrigerated, covered, overnight. This will produce a slow rise. Remove the dough from the refrigerator 2 hours before baking to let it reach room temperature.

Nutrition