Fougasse Crisp Bread

By mariannefeldman

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/8720-fougasse
Our fougasse recipe contains a little whole-wheat flour for flavor. We sifted it to remove the bran to prevent its sharp edges from cutting the large pieces of gluten and compromising the bread’s airy structure. We gently mixed and then folded the dough four times in 2 hours to produce an irregular, open crumb. The dough was then proofed in the fridge to maximize flavor, which also offered the convenience of a bread that could be baked anytime from 16 to 48 hours after mixing. To make shaping the fougasse easy, we rolled it out with a rolling pin, transferred it to parchment, and cut it with a pizza cutter. To ensure a crisp, tender, and golden crust, we brushed the dough with olive oil right before baking.

see site for fougasse w/black pepper & asiago, olive or bacon & gruyere

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1 1/3 ounces) whole-wheat flour
• 3 cups (15 ounces) King Arthur all-purpose flour
• Salt
• 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) water
• Cornmeal or semolina flour
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

Preparation

Step 1

If you can’t find King Arthur all-purpose flour, you can substitute bread flour. For the best results, weigh your ingredients. You’ll also need to plan ahead: The dough needs to rise in the refrigerator for at least 16 hours.

1. Sift whole-wheat flour through fine-mesh strainer into bowl of stand mixer; discard bran remaining in strainer. Add all-purpose flour, 1½ teaspoons salt, and yeast to mixer bowl. Fit stand mixer with dough hook, add water, and knead on low speed until cohesive dough forms and no dry flour remains, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer dough to lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Holding edge of dough with your fingertips, fold dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward center. Turn bowl 45 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 folds). Cover with plastic and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat folding and rising every 30 minutes, 3 more times. After fourth set of folds, cover bowl tightly with plastic and refrigerate for at least 16 hours or up to 48 hours.

3. Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, stretch gently into 8-inch round (do not deflate), and divide in half. Working with one piece of dough at a time, gently stretch and fold over 3 sides of dough to create rough triangle with 5-inch sides. Transfer to lightly floured rimmed baking sheet, seam side down, and repeat with remaining piece of dough. Cover dough loosely with plastic lightly coated with vegetable oil spray and let rest at room temperature until dough is relaxed and no longer cool to the touch, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

4. Place baking stone on lower-middle rack of oven and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line two overturned rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and dust liberally with cornmeal. Transfer one piece of dough to lightly floured counter and, using rolling pin, gently roll into triangular shape with 8-inch base and 10-inch sides, about ½ inch thick. Transfer dough to parchment with base facing short side of pan.

5. Using pizza cutter, make 6-inch-long cut down center of triangle, through dough to sheet, leaving about 1½ inches at either end. Make three 2- to 3-inch diagonal cuts through dough on each side of center cut, leaving 1-inch border on each end of cuts, to create leaf-vein pattern (cuts should not connect to one another or to edges of dough).

6. Gently stretch dough toward sides of pan to widen cuts and emphasize leaf shape; overall size of loaf should measure about 10 by 12 inches. Cover loosely with plastic lightly coated with oil spray and let rest at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes. Twenty minutes after shaping first loaf, repeat rolling, cutting, and shaping with second piece of dough. (Staggering shaping of loaves will allow them to be baked in succession.)

7. Brush top and sides of first loaf with 2 tablespoons oil. Sprinkle loaf evenly with 1½ teaspoons rosemary and 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Slide loaf from baking sheet, on parchment, to baking stone and bake until golden brown, 18 to 22 minutes, rotating parchment halfway through baking. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Repeat topping and baking with second loaf.

Fougasse Timeline

DAY BEFORE BAKING:

Mix dough; let rest for 30 minutes.

Fold dough and let rise for 30 minutes; repeat, folding 3 more times for 2 hours total.

Refrigerate for 16 to 48 hours.

DAY OF BAKING:

Create 2 rough triangles; let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Roll and cut first loaf; let rest for 30 to 45 minutes.

20 minutes after shaping  first loaf, roll and cut second loaf.

Making Leaf-Shaped Fougasse

Before being shaped and cut, the dough pieces are rolled into rough triangles and then left to rest.

1. Roll dough into triangular shape with 8-inch base and 10-inch sides, about 1/2 inch thick.

2. Make 6-inch-long cut in center, leaving 1 1/2-inch border. Make three 2- to 3-inch diagonal cuts on each side, leaving 1-inch border.

3. Gently stretch dough to widen cuts and emphasize leaf shape; loaf should measure about 10 by 12 inches.
Why Add Whole Wheat?

Blending a small amount of whole-wheat flour into our fougasse dough gives the bread complexity and depth, thanks to the nutty-tasting bran. This outer layer of the grain is stripped away from the grain in refined flour. The only trick: Since the large pieces of bran have sharp edges that can cut gluten strands and inhibit rise, we sift the whole-wheat flour first.