In The Galley @ Sea

In The Land Based Galley

I've been on a bread baking kick this summer, mostly sourdough and yeast no-knead breads. However, last week I tried a couple new thing. Made a poolish, a pre-ferment, on Wednesday and baked Poolish Focaccia the next day. This recipe comes from Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

POOLISH (PRE-FERMENT)

Quantity: 23 ounces

Ingredients:

2 1/2 Cups (11.25 ounces) Unbleached Bread Flour (high protein)

1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) Water, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon (.03 ounces) Instant Yeast

Directions: 

In mixing bowl stir together the flour, water and yeast until all of the flour is hydrated.

The dough should soft and sticky . . . looks like very thick pancake batter.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours or until the sponge becomes bubbly and foamy.

Immediately refrigerate  (will keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator).

POOLISH FOCACCIA

Quantity:   One 17 x 12 Inch Focaccia

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups (20 ounces) Poolish (see Poolish Pre-Ferment Recipe)
2 2/3 cups Unbleached Bread Flour (high gluten)
2 teaspoons (.5 ounces) Salt
1 1/2 teaspoons (.17 ounces) Instant Yeast
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) Olive Oil
3/4 cup Water, lukewarm (90 - 100 degrees F)
1/4 to 1/2 cup Herb Oil (see below)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese


DIRECTIONS:

One hour before making the dough remove the Poolish from the refrigerator to remove the chill.

In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, salt and yeast.

Add the oil, poolish and water and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until blended.

Switch to the dough hook and knead for 5 to 7 minutes until you have smooth, sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but will stick to the bottom. Add additional flour if needed to obtain a soft and sticky dough.

Generously sprinkle the counter with flour to form a 6 inch square. Using a scraper or spatula dipped in water, transfer the sticky dough to the bed of flour and dust liberally with flour, patting the dough into a rectangle.

Wait five minutes, allowing the dough to relax.

Coat your hands with flour and stretch the dough from each end to about twice it’s size; now fold the dough into thirds, letter style, returning it to a rectangle shape. Dust lightly with flour, cover with plastic wrap.

Let dough rest for 30 minutes then stretch the dough again. This time mist the dough with spray oil and dust with flour and cover.

Let the dough rest another 30 minutes and repeat the stretching and folding and cover.

Allow the covered dough to ferment on the counter for 1 hour. It will swell up but may not necessarily double in size.

Line a 17 x 12 inch sheet pan with baking parchment.

Spread ¼ cup olive oil on parchment.

Lightly oil your hands and using a pastry scraper; lift the dough off the counter and transfer to the sheet pan, maintaining the rectangular shape as much as possible.

Spoon ½ of the herb oil over the dough

Using your finger tips to dimple the dough and spread out the dough in the pan. Try to keep the thickness of the dough uniform.

Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature for about two hours or until the dough fills the pan.

About 15 minutes for baking drizzle on the remaining herb oil; dimple it in with your fingers.

Let the dough relax for 15 to 30 minutes to allow the gas to build back up. It should be almost 1 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

Place the pan in the oven and reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Add Parmesan cheese and return to oven, rotating pan 180 degrees from it’s original position.

Bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 200 degrees F.

Immediately transfer the focaccia onto a cooling rack, carefully removing the parchment paper.

Cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

HERB OIL

A generous application of herb oil will greatly enhance the flavor of the dough. To make the oil, gently warm the olive oil to 100 degrees and add your favorite mixture of herbs. Additional spices such as paprika, cayenne pepper, etc. may also be added.


2 Cups Olive Oil
1 Cup Fresh Herbs, chopped (Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Rosemary, etc.)
5 Cloves Garlic, chopped (optional)
1 Teaspoon Spice of choice (optional)

Just warm oil to 100 degrees F, stir in herbs and spices of choice.

Store leftover oil in the refrigerator for up to 2weeks.