Easy Fougasse Recipe
French fougasse is so delicious, with its crusty exterior and soft, chewy center. Flavored with herbs, olive oil, and flaky salt. This makes two fougasse.
Ingredients
- 240 g lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 312 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried herbs de Provence or Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 50 g extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh thyme or rosemary (optional) finely chopped
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir the water and the yeast. Add the flour, herbs, salt, and olive oil. Stir everything together with a fork or rubber spatula until it forms a shaggy and sticky dough.
- Over the next hour and a half, perform three sets of stretches and folds on the dough around every 30 minutes. A stretch and fold is when one side of the dough is stretched and pulled over. The bowl is then turned, and this move is repeated on the following side. Continue stretching, folding, and turning the bowl until all sides have been folded. That is one set of stretches and folds. Cover the dough with a lid or clean dish towel in between folds.
- Tip the dough onto a well-floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour and use your fingertips to press it out to make a square gently.
- Use a dough scraper or sharp knife to cut the dough in half. Place each half on a piece of parchment paper.
- Lay one piece of dough vertically in front of you. Use the short side of the dough scraper or a pizza wheel to make two small cuts in the top and bottom sections of the dough, but take care not to make the cuts meet. Stretch the dough out a little to expose the cuts.
- Then make 3-4 diagonal cuts on either side and stretch them out to reveal a leaf shape. Repeat with the second piece.
- Let the shaped dough rest for 30-45 minutes or until slightly puffy. Preheat the oven to 450°F / 230°C.
- In a small bowl, mix the olive oil and herbs. Gently brush the fougasse with half the olive oil and herb mixture. You might need to dab rather than brush, so not to deflate the dough.
- Bake one fougasse at a time in the oven for around 12 minutes until deep golden brown.
- Brush the baked fougasse with the remaining olive oil when it's baked. Sprinkle with flaky salt.
Notes
*The cup sizes given are US-sized cups. Note that these are smaller than metric. For best results, use grams. Use the toggle to alternate between the measurements.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 183kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 4gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 267mgFiber: 1g
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