BBB: Fougasse

I try to keep some basic dough on hand in case I want to bake up a quick pizza for dinner. When the Bread Baking Babes announced their October challenge, I realized that my 'pizza' dough would work perfectly.

Since I had a huge jar of Kalamata olives sitting in the fridge, I decided to use them as a filling for the fougasse.



I was really pleased that the slits didn't close up. That's success in my book!


Similar to focaccia, this is an easy and versatile bread.



The hostess this month was Elizabeth of blog from OUR Kitchen. Check out her blog to see what the other Babes baked. All of their breads sound so delicious! .







Olive Oil Dough
(adapted from ABin5)

11 ounces warm water
3/4 tablespoon active dry or instant yeast
3/4 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Combine the first five ingredients.

Mix in the flour.

Cover lightly and let rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses, about 2 hours.

At this point the dough can be used or refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Shaping:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove half of the dough, dust with flour, and shape into a ball. Flatten the dough until it's about 1/2" thick. Spread with 1/2 cup of chopped Kalamata olives, then roll, in jelly-roll fashion. Shape the roll into a ball, then, once again, flatten the dough until it is about 1/2" thick. Liberally flour the dough. Cut slits into the dough, adding flour as necessary to keep the slits open. Place on prepared baking sheet (parchment or greased), brush with olive oil, and let rest for 20 minutes.

Place in heated oven and bake until golden, about 25 to 35 minutes. (You can add a pan of hot water underneath to create a steam-like environment.)

Serve warm.