It has RISEN, but not nearly enough...

So the recent arctic conditions kept me home from work for an entire week. To keep the cabin fever at bay, I decided to make focaccia.

The first batch was fine.

But fine wasn’t what I wanted.

I wanted a focaccia that towered above all others — the steroid-enhanced, string-tank-top-wearing, gym-bro giant of the focaccia world. Three batches later, I found myself sitting in front of the oven watching my bread rise to Schwarzenegger-esque proportions.

When I pulled the pan from the heat, I swear the crust rose and fell in concert with my own breathing. Probably a combination of internal steam and baker’s euphoria. But there may be a story there…

The recipe is below. I stole most of it from the King Arthur “Big & Bubbly” focaccia recipe and made a few adjustments of my own.

Bake. Eat. Grow large with food.

Makes one monstrously large focaccia.

(This recipe is specifically for a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.)

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Ingredients

For the dough

720 g all-purpose flour

568 g warm water (roughly 95–100°F)

18 g fine sea salt

10 g sugar

6 g instant yeast

36 g olive oil

(Yes, I weigh everything.)

For the pan and top

About 50–60 g olive oil, divided

A good sprinkle of salt

Rosemary or thyme, if you like

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Method

Mixing the dough

Stir the water, yeast, and sugar together in a large bowl, then add the flour, salt, and olive oil. Mix until there’s no dry flour left. The dough will be wet and sticky. Cover and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I use a big aluminum bowl with a plastic lid.

Stretching and folding

With a wet hand, lift one edge of the dough and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl a bit and repeat all the way around. Put the lid back on and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Repeat this stretch-and-fold process four times total, resting 15 minutes between each round. By the end, the dough should look smoother and have some pull to it.

Bulk rise

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until it’s increased by about three-quarters in volume and looks bubbly and active. In a kitchen around the mid-70s, this usually takes 75 to 90 minutes.

My kitchen was pretty cold, but one of my counters sits over a radiator — that helped.

Preparing the pan

Oil a room-temperature 10-inch cast-iron skillet with about 30 g olive oil, making sure the sides are well coated. Don’t preheat the pan.

Panning the dough

Gently tip the dough into the skillet, fold it once like a letter, and flip it seam-side down. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then stretch it gently toward the edges of the pan.

Second rise

Leave the dough uncovered and let it rise until it’s very puffy and jiggly, with a slight dome in the center. This usually takes 60 to 75 minutes at around 70–75°F. The dough should be close to the rim of the skillet.

Dimpling

Oil your fingertips and press dimples into the dough, about halfway to two-thirds of the way down. Don’t press all the way to the bottom.

Post-dimple rest

After dimpling, leave the dough alone for 20 minutes, uncovered. It should puff back up between the dimples while keeping their shape. This step makes a noticeable difference in the final height.

Don’t skip it. You don’t want a deflated focaccia. Well, do you?

Topping

Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top, sprinkle with salt, and add herbs if you’re using them.

Baking

Bake in a fully preheated 450°F oven on a lower-middle rack for 20 to 24 minutes, until the top is deeply golden.

Checking doneness

I aim for an internal temperature between 195 and 200°F in the center. The crumb should be fully set and not gummy.

Cooling

Let the focaccia rest in the skillet for about 5 minutes, then move it to a rack and let it cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Note

This focaccia often looks done before it actually is. I pulled it too early once and almost ruined everything. I had to put the bread back into the screaming-hot pan and shove it back into the oven like nothing happened.