Sourdough Olive Fougasse Bread (French Style Bread) Recipe #sourdoughbreadrecipe #levainbread#art

Fougasse bread is a traditional French bread originally from Provence. It is considered a relative of Italian focaccia. In the homeland, it is usually prepared with various fillings and most often with olives and herbs. Here you will find a variation of this incredible bread that I have adapted for sourdough baking. This bread will become the star of your table, because it is not only very tasty, but also very beautiful 🤍

FOR SOURDOUGH STARTER:
30 g sourdough starter
30 g water
30 g flour
– Feed your sourdough starter in a 1:1:1 ratio and leave until it reaches its peak. (~4-6 hours)

FOR DOUGH:
90 g sourdough starter at its peak
260 g bread flour
40 g whole wheat flour
190 g water (1)
6 g salt
15 g water (2- added with salt)
75 g olives

When the sourdough starter has reached its peak:
1. Dissolve sourdough starter in water and add flour. Mix thoroughly until the flour absorbs all the water. Cover and leave for 30-40 minutes for fermentolysis.
2. Add salt and extra water (bassinage technique). Knead the dough until the salt dissolves. Cover and let rest for 30-40 minutes
3. Prepare the olives – cut them into small pieces.
4. Add the olives to the dough using the coil folding technique and leave to rest for 30-40 minutes.
5. Perform two more series of coil folding with an interval of 30-40 minutes.
6. After the last series of coil folding, leave the dough to ferment until it has increased in size and is very airy and has air bubbles on the surface.
7. Cover the dough and leave it for overnight cold fermentation in the refrigerator.
8. The next day, take the dough out of the refrigerator and leave it at room temperature for 1-2 hours to warm up.
9. Dust the baking paper with flour. Transfer the dough to baking paper and stretch the dough with your hands, giving it an oval shape (as shown in the video).
10. Using a dough spatula or a knife, make elongated holes in the dough and stretch them with your hands, giving the dough the shape of a leaf.
11. Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F). Place the fougasse bread on a baking sheet, throw some ice cubes or pour some boiling water on the tray (to create steam) and bake for 15 minutes with steam.
12. Release the steam from the oven, lower the temperature to 220° (430°F) and bake for another 10-15 minutes until golden brown
13. Remove the Fougasse bread from the oven, cool and enjoy your delicious freshly baked bread.🤍

💡For baking on the same day, skip points 7 and 8.
💡It is important that the fougas bread dough is well fermented before baking, then you will get an incredibly tasty crispy crust and soft crumb.