Kenji’s Garlic Focaccia
- 5 tablespoons (75ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt, for seasoning
- 500g all-purpose or bread flour (17 1/2 ounces; about 3 1/4 cups)
- 15g kosher salt (1/2 ounce; about 1 tablespoon)
- 4g instant yeast (0.15 ounce; about 1/2 teaspoon)
- 325g water (11 1/2 ounces; about 1 1/2 cups minus 1 tablespoon)
- 1 whole head garlic – roast at 350 for 1hr with oil & salt, wrapped tight in aluminum
- Combine flour (250g), salt (6g), yeast (2g), and water (162g) in a large bowl. Cover bowl tightly, rest on the countertop for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
- Add 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil to a 12-inch cast iron skillet or large cake pan. Transfer dough to pan by tipping it out of the bowl in one large blob. Turn dough to coat in oil. Flatten dough in skillet. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let dough stand at room temperature for 2 hours. After the first hour, adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 550°.
- At the end of the 2 hours, dough should mostly fill skillet, up to its edge. Use your fingertips to press it around until it fills every corner, popping any large bubbles that appear. Lift up one edge of dough to let any air bubbles underneath escape. Repeat, moving around dough, until no air bubbles are left underneath and dough is evenly spread around skillet. Peel roasted garlic cloves and break up large cloves into 2 or 3 pieces each. Scatter roasted garlic evenly over surface of dough, then push down on each clove until it is embedded in a deep well of dough.
- Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom appears golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula, 16 to 24 minutes. If bottom is not as crisp as desired, place pan on a burner and cook over medium heat, moving pan around to cook evenly, until bottom of focaccia is crisp, 1 to 3 minutes.
Adapted from J Kenji Lopez Alt