I won’t lie. I wasn’t particularly thrilled when botanicals was announced as the theme for week 6. I just don’t particularly dig floral flavourings, for example. Citrus and herb, I can get on board with, but put your rose essence in someone else’s dessert.
Sam doesn’t like meringue, and I didn’t really have the energy to make a crazy cake so fougasse it was. Though it was odd that this was the second bake off challenge this year that I’ve gotten to use rosemary in. In the end, the fougasse was really tasty. I’d liken it to a crunchy breadstick. I probably wouldn’t take it as a snack to the movies though.
Rosemary Fougasse
Ingredients:
4 cups of plain flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of chopped rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Instructions:
In a small bowl, combine your warm water and yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Mix your flour, herbs and salt in a large bowl. Then pour the yeast mixture into the flour, then the olive oil and stir until the dough just starts forming a loose ball.
Grease the kitchen counter with a bit of olive oil and turn the dough out onto the surface. Kneed the dough into a smooth ball.
Grease a large bowl, put the dough inside it, cover and let it sit in a warm place for at least an hour to rise.
Split your dough in half. It will make two fougasses. Stretch the dough out with your hands into roughly an oval shape on a baking tray. Make two vertical cuts down the centre, and six cuts horizontally on each side. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes. (Repeat the process with the other half of the dough.)
Preheat the oven to 232 C /450 F. Put a cup of water in the bottom of the oven to generate some steam.
Bake your bread for 16 – 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Ala is announcing this weeks winner, so head on over to This Particular to see who it is!
Link up your bakes below!
