NO-KNEAD RUSTIC FOCACCIA BREAD
No-knead breads are so simple and easy to make, yet they are so delicious once they are baked. There isn’t much work involved – just one bowl, a wooden spoon, and a few ingredients. And the finished result is a lovely, golden, chewy, open crumb bread, that is just perfect for any type of sandwich. This is a rather small quantity of ingredients, so do not hesitate to double (or even triple!) the quantities if you need to feed a crowd.
Ingredients
400 grams plain flour
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon dry yeast
350 ml warm water
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the yeast, and mix very well. Next, add the salt and mix again. Pour in the water and stir with a wooden spoon until a very soft and sticky dough forms. Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise, in a warm spot, for 18 hours. When the dough is ready, pour it onto a large baking sheet lined with baking paper. It will be too soft to shape by hand, so use a spatula to form it into a rectangle, and poke holes with your finger all over the surface of the dough.
It really doesn’t need to be perfectly shaped, because it will rise unevenly as it bakes, which is perfectly fine. Brush it with the olive oil generously, then bake in a preheated oven, at 220°C (425°F), for about 30 minutes. Check the focaccia relatively frequently after 20 minutes, to prevent the burning of the edges, because they are the thinnest part of the bread. When the bread is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool down to room temperature, then serve.
Baker’s note: The quantities are for a relatively small focaccia bread loaf. If you wish, double the quantities, and bake the loaf longer, for about 40 minutes, checking often.
By Tina Vesić
