No Knead Focaccia

No-knead focaccia bread flavoured with roasted garlic and rosemary. A must-try bread if you are looking for fuss-free, easy, no-knead bread. You can also add olives, sundried tomato and other toppings to it.

Course breads, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 12 40

Cook Time 25

Resting time 3

Total Time 1 55

Servings -10 servings

Calories 247kcal

Author Subhasmita

Ingredients

500 grams Bread flour
1 + ¾ cup water luke warm
11 grams Diamond crystal salt (ref not 1)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon Instant dry yeast
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil to add to the dough
2-3 sprig rosemary for topping
flaky sea salt for topping

Instructions

Making Dough

Whisk together flour, yeast, salt and sugar. In another large mixing bowl add lukewarm water and olive oil.
Add 3/4th of the dry mixture to water and mix. The mixture will resemble pancake batter. Mix vigorously using a wooden spoon 10-12 times ( Just like how you beat eggs). (Ref note 2)
Add rest of the dry mixture to the bowl. Mix until there is no dry patch of flour. The dough will look wet and sticky. Cover with a kitchen towel and rest for 10 minutes for the flour to hydrate.

Stretch & Fold

Stretch & fold 1 - After 10 minutes of rest, slightly wet your hands. Then take a section of the dough from the farthest side of you, stretch, and fold bringing the dough to the opposite side of the bowl (towards you). Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat the same step for rest 3 sides. (Watch the videos @00 .55 onwards to get a better idea of how to do stretch and fold)
Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for at least 20- 25 minutes allowing the gluten to relax.
At the end of 20 minutes, perform another round of stretch and fold. By now you would notice the dough looks smooth and easier to handle.

For Same Day Baking

If you have time and can proof the dough overnight, then skip to the next section. For same-day baking, after second stretch and fold, bring together the dough by using a spatula and scraping any bits of dough stuck to the bowl. Drizzle 1- 1.5 tablespoon soil and rub to cover the dough. Use a plastic wrap or double layer of cling wrap and cover the bowl airtight.
Let the dough rest in a warm corner for 1 hour, until the dough has risen double its size and looks puffy. Then skip to the step. ' 2nd Proofing'

Overnight Proofing in refregirator

After 2nd stretch and fold, bring together the dough by using a spatula and scraping any bits of dough stuck to the bowl. Drizzle 1- 1.5 tablespoon soil and rub to cover the dough. Use a plastic wrap or double layer of cling wrap and cover the bowl airtight. (ref note 3)
Keep it in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours upto 12-14 hours.

2nd Proofing( room temperature)

When you decide to bake, take out the dough. It would have risen to double its size. Punch the dough to flatten and release trapped gas.
Prepare a 9"x13" non-stick metal pan or a 13×18-inch rimmed sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper. Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and spread it well.
Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Turn it to fully coat it in the oil. Make a rough rectangular shape by tucking in the edges. The cold dough might feel a little stiff and difficult to handle, that's normal.
Loosely cover shaped dough with a cling wrap and let the dough rise to double its size for about 1.5 - 2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is. ( if you are baking the bread on same day, the dough will take about 35-45 minutes to get doubled as compared to cold refrigerated dough).

Shape and Topping

30 minutes before the end of final rise, preheat the oven to 450°f / 230°c (conventional,not fan) or 400°F (200°C) with the fan.
At the end of rising time, the dough would look puffy. Drizzle 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil all over the dough. Rub your fingertips with oil.
Using fingertips press through the dough to make dimples and also gently stretch the dough towards the edge of the pan as you dimple to allow the dough to fill.
Sprinkle flaky sea salt, rosemary sprigs for topping.

Bake

Transfer to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface and pulling away from the sides of the pan.
It is baked when the bread is pulled away from the edges.
Use a knife to release the dough from the edges if required then transfer the bread onto a wired rack to cool. (If you have lined the tray with parchment paper then its easy to remove the bread from the pan and you can do it as soon as the bread is out of the oven. If its not lined, you might have to wait for 5-8 minutes before transferring the dough.)
Let it cool down completely before cutting.

Notes

Measure salt by weight instead of volume.
Beating the wet dough with a spoon helps creating gluten. This step is optional and you can skip this.
I would avoid using a kitchen towel to cover the bowl while refrigerating as it will let cold air into the bowl and dry out the dough surface creating a crust.

Nutrition