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No-knead focaccia dough studded with colorful berries. It is crisp on the outside with soft and airy crumbs on the inside. The recipe includes both the sourdough and yeast versions.
With the abundance of berries in the summer, this is a perfect time to bake this no-knead berry focaccia. They are just lightly sweetened and bursting with the natural sweetness of berries. It just makes you happy when you see the vibrant color and even better, when you eat them!
Ingredients and substitutions
1. Bread flour
I use bread flour with 12.7% protein content. It gives a nice chewy texture. I don’t recommend using all-purpose flour, but if you want to, you may need to adjust the amount of water a bit because all-purpose flour doesn’t absorb water as much as bread flour. Try to hold back about 8-10% and see
2. Honey
The dough is lightly sweetened with honey.
3. Instant Yeast (for yeast version)
I use instant yeast, if you plan to use active dry yeast, make sure you bloom it with a bit of water for 10 minutes before you mix it into the dough
4. Sourdough starter (for sourdough version)
Use a starter that has been fed at least once or twice and not straight from the fridge. Use it when it has peaked
5. Extra virgin olive oil
It gives a nice flavor, but if you don’t like, you can use other oil of your choice
6. Salt
I use fine sea salt
No-Knead Berry Focaccia
Ingredients
Sourdough version:
- 250 g bread flour 12.7% protein content
- 100 g active starter 100% hydration
- 6 g salt
- 20 g honey
- 190 g water
- 13 g extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
Yeast version:
Prepare poolish:
- 50 g bread flour
- 50 g water
- 1/16 tsp instant yeast just a small pinch
Main dough:
- 250 g bread flour 12.7% protein content
- 190 g water
- 20 g honey
- 6 g salt
- ¼ tsp instant yeast
- 13 g extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
Toppings:
- 200 g fresh or frozen berries if frozen, do not thaw
- 2 Tbsp Turbinado sugar more if needed
Instructions
Prepare the levain (for sourdough):
- To prepare levain: Since I know I will be baking the next day, I will prepare more starter the night before. I will feed at 1:5:5 ratio so it will last me until the next morning, about 8-10 hours to double or triple at 75-77 F (24-25C). This also depends on the strength of your starter and the room temperature the starter is at. It may be faster or longer. Combine 10 grams starter + 50 grams flour + 50 grams water in a jar. Stir until all is combined and no dry bits of flour.
Prepare poolish (for yeast version):
- Combine water, flour, and yeast. Stir until all is combined and no dry bits of flour. Cover loosely with a cling wrap and let it sit at room temperature. It takes about 10 hours for it to double in volume
Prepare the dough:
- The next day, combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, including the starter or poolish. Stir with a spatula until you get a shaggy and sticky dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes
Stretch and fold the dough:
- After the 30-minute rest, Scrape the sides of the bowl with a bench scraper or spatula to "clean" it up. Lightly wet your fingers and scoop the dough from the bottom and gently wiggle and stretch it up and fold it over.
- Do this about 4-5 times around the edge. This actions helps to develop gluten without having to knead the dough. The dough is sticky, so lightly wet your fingers help to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers
- Round the dough up into a dough ball. Notice how much smoother and stronger the dough is now. Cover again and let it rest for 40 minutes
- Repeat the second set of coil folds. You will notice that the dough is not as extensible anymore and much stronger
Continue to let it ferment:
- Cover the dough and let it continue fermenting until it is double or close to double in volume. The temperature of the place I put the dough in was about 82 F (28 C). It takes about 1-2 hours if using yeast, and about 2-3 hours if using sourdough starter. The time highly depends on the temperature
Cold retard in the fridge:
- I transfer the dough to a container with a tight-fitting lid and put it in the fridge for 8-12 hours
Shaping:
- Oil a quarter sheet pan (9×13 inches). Line a parchment paper. Oil the parchment paper on all sides.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Tip the container upside down to gently release the dough from the container to the center of the pan.
- Oil your hands and use your hands to stretch the dough to fit the pan.
- If the dough retracts back, rest it for 5 minutes and then stretch it to fit the pan
Final proofing:
- Drizzle with a bit of oil and rub the surface with some oil to prevent it from drying out. Cover and let it rest and proof at a warm place until the dough is really puffy and jiggly (full of air). This may take 1-2 hours or longer depending on the temperature
Preheat the oven:
- 15 minutes before the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C).
Add toppings and dimple the dough:
- Drizzle more oil on top of the dough. Scatter the berries on top of the dough.
- Oil your ten fingers and gently dimple the dough using ten fingers, going straight down all the way to the bottom of the pan, and pushing some of the berries when you do that. Repeat this process until you dimple the surface of the dough evenly. Sprinkle with some turbinado sugar
- Once you have created dimples, it is best to bake the focaccia right away to maintain those "bubbly" air pockets you created through the dimpling process
Bake:
- Put the pan in the middle rack and bake for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature is at least 190 F. Since there is sugar topping on top, you want to tent the surface loosely with aluminum foil (shiny side up), the last 10 minutes into baking to prevent it from browning too much before the bread is cooked through
Transfer to cooling rack immediately: (to prevent soggy bottom)
- Once the bread is out of the oven, lift the parchment paper up and put it on top of the cooling rack. Carefully peel the parchment paper from the sides and gently slide the bread directly onto the cooling rack. This is to preserve the "crispness" of the bottom part of the bread. If you let it cool down in the pan, the bottom gets soggy and wet because condensation gets trapped in the bottom of the pan
To serve:
- Let the bread cool down for at least 10 minutes and then serve. They are best served on the same day
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to store
1. At room temperature for short-term storage: Even though focaccia is best on the same day, but from my experience, it keeps well for about 2 days when stored in an air-tight container at room temperature. It may lose it crispness, but this can be easily revived by reheating
2. Freezer for long-term storage: Focaccia also freezes very well. Let them cool completely. Cut into serving slices. Wrap them in plastic wrap and then another layer of aluminum foil won’t hurt too. I then put it inside a freezer bag, push all the air out and seal. They can be kept in the freezer for one month
How to reheat
You don’t need to thaw if it’s frozen. Spray with a bit of water, loosely wrap in aluminum foil and then reheat in the oven at 375 F (190 C) for 10-15 minutes if frozen, about 5 minutes if not frozen. For the crispy top, you can expose the top and reheat for another 2-3 minutes and serve immediately
