51 Hour Focaccia

Making a perfect focaccia is something anyone can do with only 5 ingredients.

Prep
51 hrs
Cook
25 min
Total
52 hours
Serves
2
people
51 Hour Focaccia
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Ingredients

Dough (makes 2x 9” x 13” (23 x 33-cm) loaves):

  • 900g bread flour
  • 720g water, warmed to 90°F (32°C)
  • 5g instant yeast
  • 16g fine sea salt
  • Flakey salt, to taste
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for greasing + drizzling

Relish:

  • ½ cup (70g) Castelvetrano olives, pitted and sliced into quarters
  • 1 fuji apple, ¼” (.6 cm) dice
  • Zest of half a lemon
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
  • Flakey salt, to taste
  • 1 Tbsp (15mL) lemon juice

Sandwich (makes 4 servings):

  • Fresh focaccia
  • Kewpie mayo, to taste
  • 1 lb (454g) deli turkey, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb (454g) mortadella, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups (40g) arugula
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, to taste
  • Lemon juice, to taste
  • 4 balls burrata
  • Flakey salt, to taste
  • Relish
  • ½ cup (12g) basil leaves

Directions

Focaccia:

  1. Place the flour in a large bowl. In a separate container, whisk together the water, yeast, and salt until dissolved. Pour the wet mixture into the flour and mix by hand until it roughly comes together. The dough will be very sticky. Perform the Rubaud method by forming a C-shape with your hand, scooping under the far side of the dough, and slapping it back down. Rotate and repeat, working constantly, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 1-2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rest 15 minutes.
  2. Lightly wet your hand then gently grab one edge of the dough. Pull straight up and stretch as far as you can without tearing the dough. Fold the stretched dough over onto itself. Rotate 90° and repeat until you’ve completed a circle. Rest 30 minutes, then perform this process again. Repeat for a total of 4 stretches and folds.
  3. Using an oiled bench scraper or your hand, transfer to an oiled container. Cover and rest in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours, but ideally 48 hours.
  4. Lightly spray your work surface and dough with cooking spray and carefully transfer to your work surface. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 2 equally sized pieces. Generously grease 2x 9” x 13” (23 x 33-cm) baking pans with olive oil and carefully transfer in your dough. Gently stretch the dough towards the edges of the pan. If the dough is resisting this stretching, cover with plastic wrap, let it rest for 15 minutes, then spread out to the edges of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap, and proof at room temperature for about 3 hours, or until it has risen to the top edge of the pan. When there's only 1 hour left of proof time, preheat the oven to its maximum temperature, ideally 500°F (260°C).
  5. After proofing, generously drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over top of the dough and also add a little on your hands. Rub your hands together, and use your fingertips to dimple the dough across its entire surface. Sprinkle flaky salt on top of the dough. Place the pan in the oven, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the bread has puffed, is a gorgeous golden brown on the outside, and is just baked through.
  6. Remove the focaccia from the oven, let it cool in the baking pan for 1 minute, then immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool completely so the bottom stays crispy.

Relish:

  1. Combine the apple and olives in a medium mixing bowl along with the zest of half a lemon. Season to taste with olive oil, flakey salt, and lemon juice. Toss to combine.

Sandwich

  1. Slice a large piece of focaccia in half. Spread a generous amount of mayo on the bottom half followed by your mortadella and turkey. Add an even layer of arugula, seasoning with a touch of olive oil and lemon juice. Next, tear and spread the burrata across the sandwich, seasoning with flakey salt. Spoon on your relish, top with basil, and crown your king. Serve and enjoy!