Fougasse au Romarin

The leaf-shaped hearth bread of Provence: a soft olive oil dough slashed open into the form of an ear of wheat, strewn with rosemary, coarse salt, and olive oil, and baked until crisp-edged and golden, the southern French cousin of Italian focaccia

Origin: Provence, France

From the journey of Rosemary.

Fougasse is the characteristic bread of Provence, descended, like Italian focaccia and the Roman panis focacius before it, from the flat hearth breads of antiquity baked in the ashes of the fire (the name shares the Latin root focus, hearth). Its distinctive form is its glory: the flattened dough is cut right through with several slashes and stretched open so that it bakes into the shape of a leaf or an ear of wheat, all edge and crust, maximising the crisp, oil-crackled surface. The classic Provençal version is strewn with rosemary and coarse salt and brushed with the green olive oil of the Midi, the herb of the garrigue scenting the whole loaf. Once the baker's test loaf, slipped into the oven to gauge its heat, fougasse is now eaten torn warm with an aperitif, with olives and tapenade, or simply on its own.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 500 g strong white bread flour
  • 7 g instant dried yeast
  • 1.5 tsp fine salt
  • 320 ml warm water
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl

Topping

  • 3 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped, plus a few whole sprigs
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, for the top
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt, for the top

Method

  1. Combine the flour, yeast, and fine salt in a bowl. Add the warm water and the 3 tbsp olive oil, and mix to a shaggy dough. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes (by hand or mixer) until smooth, soft, and elastic, then work in half the chopped rosemary.
  2. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and leave to prove in a warm place for about 1.5 hours, until doubled in size.
  3. Tip the risen dough onto a floured surface and divide in two. Gently stretch and pat each piece into a flat oval or leaf shape about 1.5cm thick on a sheet of baking paper.
  4. With a sharp knife or dough scraper, cut several diagonal slashes right through each piece, then pull the dough open with your fingers to widen the gaps into a leaf or wheat-ear pattern.
  5. Cover loosely and prove for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan / 425°F), with a baking stone or heavy tray inside if you have one.
  6. Brush the loaves with olive oil, scatter with the remaining chopped rosemary, the whole rosemary sprigs, and the coarse salt, and slide onto the hot stone or tray. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
  7. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and eat warm, torn into pieces, with more olive oil, olives, or tapenade.

Notes

Fougasse is endlessly variable: work olives, anchovies, or grated cheese into the dough, or scatter the top with other herbs. The rosemary and coarse-salt version is the most classic and the most Provençal. The dramatic slashed-leaf shape is traditional and practical, giving the maximum ratio of crisp crust to soft crumb. Day-old fougasse is excellent split, brushed with oil, and toasted.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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