Cast Iron Focaccia
Cast iron focaccia is the ultimate beginner-friendly bread. This no-mixer recipe uses a cast iron skillet that brings excellent heat transfer and high sides to this recipe. That along with a few key techniques translates to a crispier crust and fluffier interior than a traditional sheet tray can offer.
Ingredients
- 360 g water, at 90°F/30°C — for dough mix
- 10 g sugar
- 25 g olive oil — plus extra for the pan and drizzling
- 450 g bread flour, 12.7% protein
- 20 g water, to dissolve yeast
- 12 g salt
- 4 g instant yeast
- flaky salt for finishing, Maldon or similar
Instructions
- Measure 360g (1½ cups) warm water, sugar, olive oil, and bread flour into a medium bowl. Stir with a sturdy metal spoon until combined, then finish mixing with a wet hand. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, mix together 20g warm water, yeast, and salt in a small container
- Add the yeast-salt slurry to the dough then wet your hand and use a claw-like squeezing maneuver to mix until the salt and yeast are well combined with the hydrated flour and there are no large clumps, about a minute.
- Cover and ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- 30 minutes later, perform a strength-building fold. To do that, grab a section on one side of the dough and stretch it up until you meet resistance. Fold that stretched portion of dough across to the other side of the bowl.
- Repeat this fold 4-5 more times around the bowl until you have a dough ball that's tucked into a little package.
- Flip the dough over onto the folded seams and round off the dough ball by tucking the dough under itself as you rotate it from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock to create surface tension.
- Cover the bowl and rest 30 more minutes.
- 30 Minutes later (or 60 Minutes after finishing the mix), complete a second strength-building fold. Same as before: grab a section on the side of the dough, stretch it up, fold over to the other side, rotate the bowl and repeat 4-5 times. You'll then round the dough again using a 10 to 2 o'clock tucking motion to create surface tension until the dough is a nice, tight ball
- Cover the bowl and transfer to the fridge for 4-24 hours.
- Pour about ¼ cup olive oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet and then transfer the cold dough into the oiled pan, bottom side up.
- Using oiled fingertips, dimple and gently stretch the dough out toward the edges of the pan. Don't force it. If it springs back, let it relax for a few minutes and try again.
- Cover and place in a warm spot (ideally above 70°F/20°C) to proof for roughly 60 minutes.
- 60 minutes later, drizzle the top of the dough with a touch more olive oil, then dimple the dough again with your fingertips 10-12 times, pressing all the way to the bottom of the pan.
- Cover and proof for 30 more minutes or until the dough has doubled in size and looks buoyant full of air bubbles.
- Preheat your oven to 500°F/260°C if you haven't already.
- Sprinkle the top of the dough with flaky salt.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until the top is deeply golden brown on top and fully risen.
- Immediately remove the focaccia from the pan and place on a cooling rack. to rest for at 15-20 minutes before cutting.
If this is your first time mixing and stretching dough, watch the video version of this recipe above for a live demonstration of how I do this.
If your house is cold, preheat your oven to 500°F/260°C early and put the cast iron on the stovetop
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