I have been making a lot of focaccia in a bag. It’s very easy with a few days of passive work and has become a staple when I throw brunch, host a holiday, attend a party, or travel. It’s a good way to use the many herbs that I grow, is vegan, and there’s never any leftover. I’ve written a blog post and recipe on this focaccia before, but the more I make it, the more I come up with ways to cut corners and simplify the process without sacrificing that airy open texture. It’s time I updated everyone with my revised, even-easier-than-before focaccia in a bag recipe:
Here’s how to make focaccia in a zip-lock bag the lazy, no-mess way:
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- 4 Cups bread flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Shake together in a 1-gallon zip-lock bag.
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- Bloom 1 package (or 2 tsp) active dry yeast in 1 cup warm water, add to bag, knead in bag (smoosh and stretch)
- Add up to another 1 cup warm water to the bag and knead until you have a sticky dough-like mess. Do not exceed 2 cups water total (unless you are in the desert or another very dry place).
Knead for 10 minutes by smooshing and stretching the bag
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- Add 1/4 C olive oil to the bag
Knead for 5 more minutes
Refrigerate bag for at least 18 hours, not more than 3 days. You may need to burp the bag once a day by letting a little gas out.
- On baking day, open the bag and smoosh the dough into a ball so the bag will stand on end, and set on your counter for 2-4 hours (dough should become smooth, rise slightly, springy when dimpled)
- Oil a 9×13″ roasting pan well, don’t forget the corners and sides
- Dump the dough from bag straight to pan and stretch to conform to the pan-shape
- Let dough double in size, about 2.5 hours for cool kitchens, or as little as 45 minutes for warm ones.
- During the final rise, prepare your decorations (avoid wet decor, halve your olives, onions are your friend)
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Press your decorations into the dough and dimple all-over. Coat with a generous topping of olive oil and sea salt (do not use butter)
- Bake for 30 minutes, or 35-40 if you’ve used a lot of moist leafy decor, which I always do. Tap on the top of the bread with your nails and listen for a crusty-hollow sound to indicate it’s cooked.
- Remove from pan as soon as you can handle it with a wide flat silicon spatula and let the bread finish cooling on a wire rack up off the counter.
- If you leave the bread in the pan or on the counter to cool, the bottom will get soggy.
That’s it! You can make focaccia without having to knead chalky dough, or make any mess at all on your countertop.
