Mini Focaccia Loaves - Crisp, Airy, and No-Knead
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
Tips/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
Calories: 165kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 4gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 511mgPotassium: 44mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.5gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.004mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 2mg
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