Description
Sweet, salty, and fluffy, this focaccia has it all! Bring it to your next brunch for the ultimate side dish.
Ingredients
Scale
For the focaccia:
- 300g lukewarm water
- 1/2t active dry yeast
- 2t honey
- 400g all purpose flour
- 1T kosher salt
- 25g + 4T extra virgin olive oil (plus more for topping)
- 4oz blackberries
- 1/2 a nectarine
- 1T granulated sugar
- 4 sage leaves
- 1 sprig of rosemary
For the brine:
- 35g water
- 3/4t kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and honey until the honey has dissolved.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Pour the yeast/honey mixture in along with the 25g of olive oil. Stir with a rubber spatula, cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel, and let sit for 12-14 hours.
- Once the dough has fermented, spread 3T of olive oil onto a baking sheet. Use your hands to release the dough from the bowl, fold it over itself, and gently plop it onto the sheet. Pour 1T of olive oil over the dough and begin gently stretching it until it reaches about 1/2 inch in thickness. (If the dough proves to not want to stretch, let it rest for about 10 minutes and try again.)
- Make the brine by whisking together the water and salt until the salt has dissolved.
- Use your fingers to make the classic focaccia indents by pushing your fingertips in at an angle all over the dough. Pour the brine over the top and allow it to sit in those wells you just made. Cover with a clean dish towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, chop your blackberries into halves (quarters if they’re large) and slice your nectarine (while enjoying the other half as a snack). Add your fruit to a bowl and sprinkle sugar ontop, giving it a quick stir/mash to release some of the juices. Let sit while your dough finishes its rest.
- At 30 minutes into the proof, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Adjust the rack to the center. If you have a baking stone, pop it in there. If not, you can flip over a second baking sheet and achieve a similar effect.
- When you are ready to bake, arrange your fruit on top (reserving the liquid that pooled at the bottom of the bowl). Finely chop your sage and rosemary and sprinkle the herbs over the dough as well.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a light golden brown.
- The moment it comes out of the oven, drizzle a little more olive oil on top and sprinkle some extra salt on for good measure. Use a spatula to gently release the focaccia from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before digging in.
- Optional: Use the reserved berry/nectarine juice by whisking it into some balsamic. Add this berry balsamic to a plate of olive oil for a truly great dipping sauce.