Friday, May 11, 2012

provencal olive fougasse: French Fridays with Dorie


Or as I call it:  The living, breathing dough that threatened to take over my kitchen!  Well, either I put in too much yeast, or its just a very active dough.  I took lots of pictures that came out really blurry - more than normal...I started to think the dough was moving.  And this was before any of the rises!  OK, I'm not crazy...you'll see....


After the first rise.  It's a large bowl.  



Stirred down, getting ready to start second rise...



See?  Look at this dough...look at those air holes...after second rise...it's ginormous.



It did behave better after I punched it down again.  My version of "leaf" motif.



They were sure pretty (I thought).  And very yummy...love the salt, in the olives and on top of the breads.  I held one up for the grandkids and asked what shape these were...closest guess - flower.  Oh well, so much for my leaf designing.


I've always wanted to make a focaccia, but never have, don't know why.  This forced me into it, and I'm glad.  I will certainly make this recipe and other versions in the future.  

What to do with a second bread?  I wrapped one of the cooled breads in a kitchen towel and put it into a gallon baggie (just fit) and froze it.  It tastes fine defrosted....better than the little leftover piece I had the next day from the first one.  

To see what others did with this recipe this week, you can visit French Fridays with Dorie.  




9 comments:

  1. It's aaaalllivvvee!!!!!

    I have had a few crazy risers like that - it can get messy.

    Glad it all worked out for you - your breads look scrumptious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ha! I love when yeast does that. It usually makes for extra springy bread. Your finished loaves look delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I’ve had breads that have gone crazy while rising, too! In the end…your dough behaved beautifully! Your breads look perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nicely shaped fougasse and they look delicious :) I enjoyed making them and love every bite of this olive packed fougasse :) Have a wonderful weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Glad you were able to tame your dough before it took over! An active dough feels so nice and luxurious! Your fougasse looks beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's one aggressive dough. It looks like it turned into beautiful fougasses!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I never have seen a photo of dough in the process of rising. You have some serious air going on. But, the results looked delicious. I agree with you about being a little "tough" the second day. Fougasse needs to be eaten the day it's made or frozen, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  8. haha, glad you were able to shape it easily! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your bread looks great! I can see the leaf for sure! :) I made only ony "loaf" on the first day and then I made the other loaf yesterday afternoon when we had company and it was still really good! I was worried because it had been in the fridge since Tuesday, but all was well. It's good to know this is such a versatile recipe that freezes well too.

    ReplyDelete