Poolish is a pre-ferment that includes flour, water, and a little bit of yeast.

This recipe only requires 2-3 hours of your time (dependent on the general temperature of where you live), for the most part it’s just a waiting game and only an hour of labour of love. And after all that, you’ll be rewarded with the most amazing bread that’ll look like it’s from a bakery!

Quick tips about yeast and the different types of them (because yes, they do behave differently)

• Active yeast (active dry yeast) – this type of yeast requires hydrating. So that means this type of yeast is the one that you let sit with warm water first, let it foam up, which tells you it’s activated and ready to go, before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. This yeast generally will take a bit longer to rise in comparison to instant yeast.
• Instant yeast (instant dry yeast) – this type of yeast does not require hydrating, which means you can add it straight in with the rest of the ingredients. You can substitute active dry yeast and instant dry yeast at a 1:1 ratio.
• Fresh yeast (fresh compressed yeast) – this type of yeast comes in blocks and they look like “cake” (not really but sort of) because they are compressed into a block. This requires activation by mixing it with warm water, this has similar behaviour as active yeast in a way that it’ll tell you it’s ready with they foam up. Fresh yeast has moisture in it so if this is what you’ve got at home, you’ll need to multiply the amount of fresh yeast to instant yeast by 3, and 2.5 for active dry yeast.

Focaccia (Poolish)

Alyana A

Quick, foolproof focaccia recipe – perfect for any occasion!

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Prep Time 2 hrs

Cook Time 25 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings 1 slab

Equipment

• Stand mixer
• Kitchen scales

Ingredients

  

Poolish (pre-ferment)

• 315 grams Flour
• 336 grams Water 33°C
• 3 grams Instant dried yeast

Dough

• 600 grams Poolish (pre-ferment)
• 360 grams Flour
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 15 grams Fine salt
• 5 grams Instant dried yeast
• 90 grams Olive oil
• 180 grams Water tepid

Garnish

• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Dried herbs

Instructions

 

Poolish (pre-ferment)

• Use a kitchen thermometer for the water, pour over the flour and yeast, combine until all the flour is hydrated. Cover with cling film and set aside at a warm area for approximately 1 hour or until it has doubled in volume.

Dough

• Oil an oven roasting tray (37×26.5x5cm) or (14½x10x2inch), set aside.
• Place all the ingredients in a mixer bowl, fitted with a dough hook attachment. Start on a low speed for 2 minutes, then turn to medium-high speed and knead for approximately 7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.

  Ways to check the dough is ready (see notes)
• Transfer dough in a greased oven tray, let rest for 5 minutes. The dough needs to rest before starting to stretch it out to cover all the corners of the tray.
• Once the dough is relaxed, stretch gently by pushing it starting from the middle of the tray, pulling it all the way to all the corners and sides of the tray. Cover with cling film and let it rise in a warm area for approximately 20 minutes or until doubled in volume.
• Preheat the oven at 220°C fan-forced (425°F)
• Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil on the dough and rub all over the surface (this prevents the dough sticking to your fingers when making "dimples")

  Make dimples all over the surface of the dough and top with sea salt, herbs, and whatever your heart desires.

  Place in the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until brown. Let it sit in the tray for at least 5 minutes before removing.

Notes

• Using a thermometer is highly recommended as the temperature in the recipe is vital for immediate yeast activation. This will make it quicker for your pre-ferment to rise. If you don’t have a thermometer, I advise to use cold water and make your poolish earlier in the day. I don’t recommend basing the temperature on what feels like would be “warm” as this could vary from person to person.
• Rest the dough before you try to stretch it out. As you take it out of the mixer after kneading it on high speed for 10 minutes – the dough will be stressed. Think of it as a person, if the person is stressed and you try to tell them to go somewhere they don’t want to go – they won’t go there. So this is exactly the same as how any dough behaves before you try to do any shaping to it.
• The brand that I used for yeast is by Bakels.

WAYS TO TELL YOUR DOUGH IS READY

• Windowpane test – grab a small amount of dough and lightly stretch it out with your fingers. If you can stretch it without it breaking easily and you can see through the dough, it is ready.
• The dough is not sticky but it should feel tacky.
• The dough is smooth on the surface.

Keyword bread, focaccia