Name: Fougasse
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 250 gm organic strong bread flour, sieved; 250 gm organic spelt flour, sieved; 10 gm fresh yeast (see note) (2 tsp); 2 tsp fine sea salt; 350 ml bottled spring water (see note); 1½ tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp semolina; 2 tbsp dried Greek oregano (see note)

Fougasse

Recipe for fougasse by Ross Lusted from Sydney restaurant The Bridge Room.

Serves 8

Prep

45M

Cook

40M

Total

1H 25M

“Entertaining is about breaking bread together, sharing, as opposed to having sliced bread,” says Ross Lusted. “It’s tactile; you want to touch it.”

Ingredients

250 gm organic strong bread flour, sieved

250 gm organic spelt flour, sieved

10 gm fresh yeast (see note) (2 tsp)

2 tsp fine sea salt

350 ml bottled spring water (see note)

1½ tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp semolina

2 tbsp dried Greek oregano (see note)

Method

Main

1.Combine flours in a mixing bowl. Place yeast and 100gm of combined flours in a separate small bowl and rub with fingertips to combine. Add to remaining flour. Dissolve salt in water, add to flour mixture and mix with a scraper until a dough forms. Transfer to a work surface (do not flour surface). Work dough by lifting and slapping it down on the surface to aerate (5 minutes; do not add any flour here). Place dough on a lightly floured surface and fold dough edges in a few times, then turn over to form a ball with folds underneath. Place in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and set aside until doubled in size (1-2 hours).

2.Carefully remove dough from bowl with a scraper so as not to tear dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and flatten to a square. Fold one edge into centre, repeat with opposite edge, press to form a rough 30cm x 10cm rectangle and turn over so folds are underneath. Lightly flour dough and cut into 8 triangles. Place on 2 oven trays lined with baking paper, then cut incisions in each with a plastic scraper dipped in flour to form a leaf pattern (see photo above). Set aside to rest for 10 minutes.

3.Preheat oven to 230C. Drizzle dough with olive oil, dust with semolina and oregano, spray lightly with water and bake in batches until dark golden (15-25 minutes). Cool on a wire rack and serve with pickled vegetables.

Note Fresh yeast is available from health-food shops and bakeries. Ross Lusted recommends using spring water in this recipe because the chlorine in tap water retards the activity of the yeast. Greek oregano, also known as rigani, is more aromatic than the dried oregano sold in supermarkets. It’s available in dried bunches from Greek delicatessens.
Notes