A few things I’ve learned lately—some small and some big—might be useful to pass along to the world at large (that’s you). We’re always learning, aren’t we? At least, I hope we are. I hope I’m able to remain open to adapting, to changing, to letting in new ideas and habits and ways of being. I hope I become more and more flexible as I move through the world. If nothing else, the present crisis has forced me—and most of us—into this by necessity. We can’t hold onto, or replicate, the same patterns of our lives, and so we adapt to new ones.
Seriousness aside, some of the learning comes in tiny, hilarious ways (don’t drink coffee on a white couch). Some of it comes in the mundane moments (if you like the feeling of a nicely made bed, but hate making the bed, just use a duvet and skip the top sheet so you simply have to yank and straighten it to get instant Martha Stewart status in under 60 seconds).
Some of it takes time in weeks (figuring out how—and when—to feed my sourdough starter). Some of it takes time in years (whenever you feel out of sorts, take a walk).
A few more lessons:
-Baking messy proteins in the oven is the best method when you’re adding them to dishes later like salads and tacos (bacon, salmon, chicken thighs).
-Storing avocados in the fridge really will slow their ripening for days.
-You will never read too much poetry, nor drink too much water, so do more than you think you ought to.
-You, yes you, can get sunburned when it’s cold outside.
-Handwritten letters are a disappearing art: work to change that.
-You don’t have to cook pasta separately from the other ingredients: do it all in one pot!
-Baby boys will pee all over you while you change them. There is no way around this. Prepare accordingly.
-Folding the laundry is a small way to feel accomplished.
-Sliced mushrooms, crisped in the oven in a little olive oil, are better than croutons.
-If you don’t have mushrooms OR croutons but you do have some about-to-go-stale crackers, crumble them up and sauté them in a little olive oil until golden and crispy. Use those in your salads.
-Get outside, even for just 10 minutes, before you shower and have dinner.
-Freshly made bread is one of the nicest smells.
Let’s say you aren’t fully on board with bread baking—that’s okay! I’d like to encourage you to try it; once you do, you’ll see that it’s elemental, intuitive work. Some types of bread can be frustrating to learn, as they require more technique that won’t necessarily yield great success right off the bat (think panettone, 100% rye loaves, or bagels). But overall. bread is much simpler than it appears: with little more than some mixing and heat, you can transform flour, water, yeast, and salt into a warm homemade loaf.
If you’re just starting out and want something without a complicated schedule to follow, or you aren’t as comfortable with the idea of shaping, I recommend a basic white sandwich loaf (this one is a great place to start) or these amazing cheese rolls.
I say all of that because today’s recipe uses a sourdough starter—and if you don’t have one and aren’t interested in creating and maintaining one, I don’t want you to feel left out!
(On that note, if you’re dying to make focaccia without sourdough, definitely make this “fast and easy” version from King Arthur. It doesn’t require any kneading, and you can skip the pizza dough flavor.)
But for those of you diligently caring for your own sourdough starter, let’s talk! Mine has been through the ringer—in fact, I left it abandoned in my New York City apartment refrigerator for an entire month and just rescued it, and it’s doing fine! Thriving and bubbling and yielding gorgeous breads.
I usually feed mine with all all-purpose flour, but I just switched over to a rye/all-purpose blend in the hopes of making it stronger and more flavorful so I can tackle the famous Tartine country bread. More on that soon!
Today’s recipe comes from Maurizio Leo who writes the absolutely wonderful blog, The Perfect Loaf. He’s an engineer-turned-home-baker who writes with precision, clarity, and beauty about baking. He approaches it all with the mindset of an engineer: carefully cataloging steps, technique, tips, and more in a clear and approachable way that’s absolutely designed for any home baker. Highly recommend! It’s my favorite resource for sourdough, which is his main focus.
Here is his recipe for sourdough focaccia. I like to make it plain with just a sprinkling of flaky sea salt, but you can really go pretty wild with the toppings. Herbs are traditional (think rosemary, thyme, and basil). Fresh vegetables like cherry tomatoes or shaved asparagus are great. Ditto to roasted vegetables (eggplant, caramelized onions, and fennel in particular).
You could add pretty much any cheese—grated or shaved depending on the type—or salty, pickle-type ingredients like olives and capers. As a general rule of thumb, anything you’d eat on a passed tray at a cocktail party is a good move: crumbled salami, prosciutto, thinly sliced pears, and so on.
I love thinly sliced citrus (do it!) or citrus zest. Fresh mozzarella is wonderful, as is roasted garlic and pine nuts and za’atar spice and fresh sour cherries or even tiny Italian plums.
But I digress. Let’s make it!
**If you don’t have high-protein flour, you can absolutely use entirely all-purpose flour here. You can also play around with adding other flours like rye and more: if you use whole grain flours, the focaccia might not end up as airy so start with a small percentage of the total flour and work up from there to see how you like the results.
Sourdough Focaccia
Adapted from The Perfect Loaf
345g all-purpose flour
148g bread flour (or other high-protein flour)
394g water, divided
9g salt
94g ripe sourdough starter
10g olive oil
extra flaky sea salt for finishing
In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the flours, 344g of the water, salt, and sourdough starter. Mix either by hand or with the dough hook of a stand mixer until it all comes together.
After about 5 minutes of mixing, add the remaining 50g of water. This is a very wet dough, so add the water slowly. You do want the dough to be very wet and loose but it shouldn’t be soupy. The amount of water your dough can handle will depend on the flour you use and your starter, so add the remaining water just a bit at a time and keep adding, mixing as you go, until the water is used up. If the dough gets too soupy at any point, keep mixing to see if it gets absorbed, and if it doesn’t, stop adding the water. It’s okay if you don’t add all of it, but do make sure to be mixing throughout this step as you’ll see the dough absorb the liquid as you go.
Now add the olive oil and mix for another 5 minutes until the dough comes together and the olive oil is fully incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover it loosely, and let sit at room temperature.
You’re going to let the dough sit out on the counter for 2 hours. Every 30 minutes or so, fold the dough. You do this by uncovering the bowl and wetting your hands. Reach underneath the dough, starting at the top of the bowl, and pull the dough up to stretch it and then fold the dough down on top of itself. Rotate the bowl and repeat, doing so four times.
After this two hour rest, take out a 9” x 13” pan. GENEROUSLY grease the pan with olive oil—there should be olive oil sliding around! Don’t be shy!
Plop the dough into the pan and cover it loosely. Put it in the refrigerator overnight (or for about 12 hours).
After the overnight rest, take the pan out and let it come to room temperature which will take about 30 minutes to an hour.
Once it’s at room temperature, let it rest for another 2 hours on the counter.
During this 2 hour rest, press the dough out every 30 minutes. Do this by uncovering the pan and (using wet hands) gently press the dough out to the corners of the pan. It’ll shrink back which is fine; each time, it’ll get easier to press.
Towards the end of this rest, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
When the rest period is up, uncover the pan and wet your fingers. Dimple the dough all over by pressing your fingertips deeply into the surface.
You want the top to be coated with olive oil—you can spread more on top, but I find it’s easier to simply tilt the pan around a bit and allow the oil that you used to coat the bottom to swirl up. I use my fingers to “grab'“ it and spread it over top. It’s up to you—I find there is usually already enough oil in the pan, but if there isn’t, add more.
Sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt (or any other toppings you want to use).
Bake for about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the bread; it’s ready when the surface is a deep golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before flipping it out to finish cooling. Sometimes I run a knife or thin spatula around the edges when it first comes out just to ensure it won’t stick as it cools.