Ingredients

For biga:

  • 320g bread flour (all-purpose is fine too)
  • 1.5g [1/2 tsp] instant yeast
  • 215g water

For main dough:

  • 241g [2 cup] all-purpose flour
  • 6g [2 1/4 tsp] instant yeast
  • 6g [1 1/4 tsp] salt
  • 7g [1 tsp] honey
  • 25g [2 Tbsp] olive oil (for dough, more as topping later)
  • 113g [1/2 cup] water
  • Toppings of your choice

Directions

Day before: (15 min + 2 hrs)

Make the biga. Combine all ingredients and knead for 3-4 minutes. Dough should be slightly sitcky. Ferment for ~2 hours

Knead lightly to degas, and place in refridgerator overnight.

This makes roughly double what is needed for the focaccia. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in a bag in the freezer for up ot 3 months.

Bake day: (t-minus 3-4 hours)

Grab 230g of biga, let it warm up if you have time (but if not, that’s fine).

Add flour, yeast, water, oil, and honey. Mix until combined, then work for 5-10 minutes. Should be soft and easy to work but not too sticky.

Once the dough is cooperating, flop it on a flour counter. Roll out with a rolling pin, then fold back over itself and repeat several times.

Split the dough in half, or accept that you are making a single gigantic loaf.

Roll the dough(s) in to a rectangle ~1cm thick and transfter to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare any toppings. I like to chop fresh/dried herbs and add the to some olive oil to make an herbed oil.

Prepare a brine with a 2:1 ratio of olive oil to water, and a healthy pinch of salt. Use herbed oil here if you have it. Use roughly 1/3 cup of olive oil, but this is the moment to skimp make the bread healthier if you want.

After the 30 min has passed, uncover the bread, and push with your finger to make many dimples in the surface. Make the dimples as deep as possible without breaking through.

Drizzle the brine over the bread, making sure to get it in all the holes. It’ll look like too much, but its not.

Cover the bread and let rise for another 1-2 hours, until roughly doubled in size.

Set the over to 430F, and place any additional toppings on the bread. Bake for ~20 minutes, until golden brown on top and slightly crisped.

Remove from oven and transfer immediately to cooling rack. Brush lightly with a little additional olive oil. Enjoy!