Black Olive and Herb Fougasse (French Flatbread)

Pieces of fougasse on a cutting board with olive oil.

Black Olive and Herb Fougasse (French Flatbread)

This version of fougasse is made with kalamata olives and deeply scored before baking to look like a grain of wheat. It includes caramelized onion slices, fennel seed, and fresh rosemary. Check the section of the post for High Altitude Tips if baking this at high altitudes.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine French

Keyword fougasse

Servings

Calories 190.1kcal

Author Susan Pridmore

Equipment

Kitchen scales
Medium mixing bowl
Whisk
Chef's knife
Small skillet
Stand mixer with a dough hook attachment
Sharp razor blade or knife
Sheet pan
Instant Read Thermometer
Cooling rack

Ingredients

Poolish Starter

1 cup (4.5 ounces) unbleached bread flour
½ cup warm water (105-110˚F)
⅛ teaspoon active dry yeast

Bread Filling

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup very thinly sliced yellow onions roughly 1" long
½ teaspoon fennel seed
½ cup quartered kalamata olives quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Fougasse Dough

2 cups (9 ounces) unbleached bread flour
½ cup warm water (105-110˚F)
3 teaspoons active dry yeast or 2 ½ teaspoons if baking at high altitudes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

Poolish Starter

Weigh the flour with kitchen scales or measure it by fluffing it with a fork and gently spooning it into a cup. Sweep off any excess, and pour it into a medium bowl.
Add the water and yeast and vigorously whisk together. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving a part of it loose. If it's too tightly covered with plastic, the yeast can die.
Set the bowl on the counter away from any drafts overnight to allow to ferment.

Bread Filling

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the thinly sliced onion. Sauté, only occasionally stirring, until caramelized, about 20 minutes.
Add the fennel seed and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the onion and fennel to a small bowl and add the sliced kalamata olives, fresh rosemary, and salt. Stir well until combined and allow to completely cool.

Fougasse Dough

Weigh or carefully measure the flour and add it to the poolish with the warm water. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until it's shaggy, then cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel.
Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes in a warm place in your kitchen away from drafts.
Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add the yeast and olive oil and mix on a medium-low speed for a few minutes until the olive oil is mostly absorbed into the dough.
Add the caramelized onion and olive mixture and continue to mix the dough until it's supple and smooth, about 3-4 minutes.
Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1 ½ hours in a warm spot of your kitchen completely free of drafts.
Gently deflate the dough using your fingers and turn it over in the bowl after 45 minutes.
The dough should be doubled in size.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll the dough into a 12" x 6" oval shape. Roll out the bottom of the oval to square it off or pull on the lower sides of the oval to form a triangle-ish shape.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and transfer the rolled-out dough to it. The dough should be easy to pick up.
Loosely cover with plastic and allow it to rise for 30 minutes. (For high-altitude bakers, let it rise for 20 minutes.)
Using a razor or very sharp knife, cut a slit all the way through the dough lengthwise down the center of the oval, stopping about 1" from each end.
Next, make three or four diagonal cuts on each side of the center slit.
Spread each slit apart about 1 ½ - 2" wide. The easiest way to do this is by lifting the dough and spreading the slits apart using your fingers.
These cuts form the leaf-like shape fougasse is known for and spreading them apart keeps the openings in place through the next rising of the dough.
Preheat the oven to 400˚F and allow the fougasse to rise an additional 30 - 45 minutes. It should be puffy but the openings formed by the slits you've cut should be obvious.
Bake the fougasse for 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown. To ensure the bread is fully baked, insert a temperature probe into the bottom of the bread. It should register 200˚F.
High altitude bakers will need to bake the bread an additional 5 minutes and the internal temperature should be at least 193˚F.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Nutrition