GARLIC PARM PULL APART FOCACCIA BREAD

Elevate your garlic parm bread by making this cheesy focaccia.

What will you need?

For the starter also called poolish:

Bread flour: highly recommend this over All Purpose flour because this recipe calls for a high content of water and long resting time. Bread flour contains a higher amount of protein which is necessary for this kind of recipe.

Water: depending on the season the temperature of the water will vary. In winter time we use lukewarm water, during summer the cold one is recommended. This recipe, like many of our focaccia recipes, calls for a high content of water and the term for this is “high hydration” dough. It yields soft and fluffy dough.

Yeast: whether you use “instant yeast” or “active dry yeast” it doesn’t really matter for this purpose. The main difference between the two kinds is that “active dry yeast” needs to be activated in warm water and sugar or honey prior to being used. Whereas “instant yeast” can be used right away.

Honey or sugar: yeast loves sugar, so whether you use active dry yeast or instant yeast, we recommend adding it so it feeds the yeast. To make it easy we simply dissolve the honey or sugar in the water.

Salt: for flavor since this is a savory focaccia.

Extra virgin olive oil: also known as EVOO or EVO oil. We recommend the extra virgin olive oil instead of the simple “olive oil” because it’s much flavorful. Depending on the brand, EVO oil is pure whereas simple olive oil is mixed with other oils.

If you divide the total amount of water by the total amount of flour in this specific recipe, you will find out that the percentage of hydration of this recipe is 80%.  Here is where the stretch and folds will be helpful: not only they help with gluten development but they will also make the dough easier to handle. So please do NOT add any more flour, otherwise you will end up with a more dense and drier focaccia bread.

How to make it?

The day before, make starter simply by mixing bread flour, water, yeast, and honey. Cover and let rest on the countertop for about 5-6 hours.
After it has tripled in volume and lots of bubbles on top, mix in the rest of the flour and the ice cold water and salt. Finally, add the EVO oil  NO KNEADING required.
Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Then do 1 round of stretch and folds: grab the dough stretching it out and then fold towards the center (check my highlights “focaccia” to see how I do it, it’s very simply, I promise). Do this until the dough starts to resist and gets tricky to keep doing stretches.
Flip seam side down and shape into a ball.
The dough will be very wet and sticky.
Place in the fridge overnight.
The day after, layer pan with parchment paper, then drizzle EVO oil abundantly.
Place the dough in the pan, grease the top of the dough with EVO oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm place for about 3 hours (it has to rise covering the entire surface of the pan).
Preheat oven at 425°F.
Grease your fingertips and dimple the Focaccia. Divide the Focaccia with a sharp knife or a bench scraper into 25 small squares. Place the mozzarella cheese where the cuts were performed, trying to push down as much possible. Brush with 2/3 of garlic parm mixture. (Please check highlights for these steps to better understand).
Bake on bottom rack for about 10-12 minutes (it has to be crispy), then move on the middle rack and finish baking until golden crispy on top (about 5 minutes).
Take it out of the oven and place on a baking rack without the parchment paper. After 12-15 minutes add the rest of garlic parm mixture.
Enjoy!

Why do we let it rest for so long?

There are different reasons why we prefer it this way: first, it helps with digestion because we use less yeast and his makes for longer resting hours. Second, the flavor and texture improve much more when letting rest at least 12 hours.

What pan should you use?

Highly recommend a metal pan instead of a glass one, because it holds the heat differently and will yield a very crispy focaccia on the bottom. We used a 9x13inch.

How to store it?

The best way to store focaccia is to let it cool completely, then put in freezer safe ziplock bags. If you leave it on the countertop uncovered, it will dry out and harden.

To reheat the focaccia, you can go two ways. You can microwave on the “defrost” option for a minute or so. Or, alternatively, you can place it in the air fryer for 4 minutes at 360F.

Notes:

-you can top the focaccia however you prefer it.