Sourdough Focaccia Bread

It has been a while since I have updated the blog, however the experimentation is going strong and I have been able to create delicious, repeatable recipes. I have been wanting to work with sourdough for a while and I had even gotten some starter from a friend a few years ago, but didn't really end up using it. I love baking breads and instant yeast ones have always been my go to.  So, with the COVID-19 situation, and lack of yeast and flour in the stores and tonnes of sourdough posts online, I thought I would give it a serious try again. I kept procrastinating though to start my starter and when a friend offered to share her sourdough starter, I took her up on the offer.

So the way I view it, sourdough is very much like a biga and when it is fed it is more active and the resultant dough rises faster than when using an unfed starter. Also, the rise time is very variable depending on the amount of starter used, whether it is fed or not etc. But given that you don't have to activate the yeast, as long as you are patient to wait for the first and second rises till the dough doubles, you will be successful with sourdough. 

This focaccia recipe is based on my previously documented recipe.  That is a yeast based recipe and I converted that to a sourdough based recipe. Just I doubled the quantity to make a large loaf in my rectangular 11X14 cake tin. So you can make 2 smaller loaves or halve it to make a smaller bread. To store it, let it cool down completely and then wrap in cling wrap and then foil. This can then be frozen or stored in the fridge for a longer time.

Ingredients
For the bread dough

1 and 2/3 cups of sourdough starter

2 cups water

4 tbsp oil 

5 cup all purpose flour

3 tsp salt

For baking the bread
4 tbsp oil to bake the bread
1 tbsp oil for marination
vegetables, sliced or shaped for placing on dough (sliced onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes, thin slices of beet root, thin slices of eggplant, chives, scallions, beet root leaves, spinach etc)
rosemary or other herbs

Method

Mix together the starter, water and oil and stir. Then add the flour and stir it in. This can be done with a wooden/steel spoon. It will become a very sticky and soft dough. Keep aside for 20 mins. Then sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix it well, into the dough.  Then let the dough rise for 30 mins.

The dough will rise. Coat a scraper or spatula with some oil and then use it to fold the dough in towards the center, while turning the bowl. Fold the dough and then turn the bowl 90 degrees, this is the first turn. Do this 7 more times for a total of 8 turns till all the dough is folded towards the center. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap  and then let the dough rise for another 30 minutes. Again repeat the process of folding the dough and then let the dough rise for another 30 minutes. Again fold the dough and let it rise for 30 minutes. (At the end you would have a total of 3 foldings and 3 rises)

Now prepare a 11X13 rectangular pan by pouring 2 tbsp oil and swirling it around the pan to coat it.  At this point in time, you can split the dough into two small equal parts and use two baking tins to bake two individual breads. Place the dough into the tin and then using your fingertips stretch it to cover the pan. If it cannot be stretched and springs back, then let it rest for 10-15 mins and stretch again to fill the pan.

At this point you can bake it but if you want the sourdough taste and added depth of flavor, refrigerate this pan overnight or for 8-12 hours for the sourdough taste to develop.

Next day or when baking the bread, remove the pan from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30-60 mins. At this point the bread dough will be bubbly and will have risen to at least double the volume.

Toss the vegetables that you want to decorate with in some oil and keep aside. Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Dimple the bread by poking it lightly with your finger tips, being careful to not deflate the bread too much. Then drizzle the remaining 2 tbsp oil over the bread. Some of it will pool in the dimples created on the dough.

Then sprinkle herbs (I use rosemary a lot while making focaccia), arrange the vegetables that you want to flavor it with or you can take it a step further and decorate the bread with the vegetables. (This is optional.)

Bake it for about 40 mins till it is a golden brown. The bread is ready when it registers 200 F on a cooking thermometer. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan and then remove it and let it cool on a rack.

Another indication of whether the bread is ready is when you tap on it, you can hear a thud to indicate its hollow and baked. Since this is a big bread and in the pan, it will be difficult to use this method but you can use it if baking two smaller breads.

Serve it warm with soup or cheese. Or you can make delicious sandwhiches with it.  Or just enjoy it plain.

Tips

To store bread, wrap it in cling wrap and then in foil. Frozen bread can last for 4-6 months. Ensure that it is well wrapped so it does not pick up smells from the fridge or freezer. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven when pre-heating it. To reheat, heat it in the oven.If the vegetables start to burn, you can tent the pan with a foil after 20-25 mins. Also, you can add vegetables that may burn during the last 15 mins of baking time.

Gourmet Sandwhich - Grilled Vegetables with Pesto on Artisan Bread

Last month we visited a local bistro. They had a Tuscan style menu and one of the things we ordered was a lovely grilled panini sandwhich. It had grilled vegetables, cheese, pesto and we really enjoyed it. I was quite eager to reverse engineer it and make my very own version of it. So, after a couple of days, I made a fresh batch of pesto, made some strawberry balsamic vinegar and I was on my way. The resultant sandwhich was lipsmacking.

So, this year, when we decided to celebrate my daughter's birthday in the park, and I was trying to come up with a suitable menu, I realized these sandwhiches would be perfect as the main course. Everyone loved the sandwhiches, and I received a lot of compliments. I made around eighty sandwhiches and once you read the recipe, you will realize how easy these are to scale up. So, if you are looking that dish that will wow your guests and won't have you slaving over the stove for hours, this is it!

The following ingredients list is for one ciabatta roll and will provide about 6-8 servings on how large you cut your sandwhiches.

Ingredients
1 loaf of bread (use ciabatta, or garlic bread or rosemary bread)
1/4 cup basil pesto (click on the link to see recipe from another post)
1 tbsp strawberry balsamic vinegar
pepper jack cheese, slices - at least enough to create one layer over the bread
1 large red onion, sliced
1-2 zuccinis/italian squash,  thinly sliced lengthwise
1-2 firm tomatoes, sliced
2-3 tbsp  olive oil (use about 1.5 tbsp to grill the onions and 1.5 tbsp to grill the zuccini)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

The following ingredients list is to make 80 sandwhiches, assuming one sandwhich will be about 3 inches length wise and 2-3 inches width wise. I estimated about 2 sandwhiches per person. However, if you are planning to multiple items like pastas/salads which may be filling along with the sandwhiches, you can estimate about 1.5 sandwhich per adult.

Ingredients
10-12 bread loaves (estimate the number of loaves based on how long and wide the loaf is)
4-5 cups of pesto sauce
plenty of pepper jack cheese, I bought a cheese block and sliced about 1/2 (about 4 cups worth)
1/4 cup strawberry balsamic vinegar
10 large onions, sliced
20 zuccinis, sliced length wise
12 large tomatoes, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil (use 1/8 cup to grill the onions and 1/8 cup to grill the zuccinis)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Method
Add half of the olive oil over the red onion slices and then grill these on a hot grill, till the onion is cooked, slightly browned. At this stage it gets a sweet tinge. Add remaining olive oil to the zuccini and then grill the zuccini. Let the water from the zuccini evaporate. Slice the bread horizontally into two large pieces. If you want, you can toast the bread in the oven for a few minutes. 

Now, we are ready to assemble the sandwhich. Spread pesto on one the top slice of the bread. Add a layer of cheese on the other bread slice and keep it in a warm oven for a minute till it melts slightly. Drizzle the strawberry balsamic vinegar over the cheese. Next add a layer of tomato slices. Season this layer with a little salt and pepper. Next add a layer of grilled onions, then season that with a little salt and peper. The next layer is the grilled zuccini which also needs to be lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. Then, add back the top layer of the bread with the pesto. Cut the sandwhich into 6-8 pieces based on how large you want the sandwhich to be. Based on the length and width of the bread, I was able to make 8 sandwhiches.

Use the same method when you want to scale up this recipe. Cook the onions and zuccini, slice the cheese and tomatoes. You can make pesto a few days earlier, it stays fresh in the fridge for a couple of weeks and also freezes really well.  Once you have prepared all the ingredients, you can then create an assembly line and assemble all the sandwhiches. Then cut them into appropriate number of pieces.

Tips 
If you do not have a grill, you can use a hot pan to cook the onions and zuccini. Zuccinis release water as they start cooking, so it will take a bit longer to cook/grill them than the onions. If you are making the sandwhiches a few hours in advance, then make sure to de-seed the tomatoes, so that the sandwhiches do not get soggy from the tomato juice. Also, add a layer of pesto on both side of the sandwhich, so that it stays moist. Also, do not toast the bread if you want it to stay moist.