Fougasse Instant Gratification Bread

Don't worry, this is not an alien or something mummified found in my storeroom. It is my latest bake in my ongoing bread journey. By the way, I am afraid to enter my storeroom because years and years ago, my daughter now 18 used to dump sandwiches in it because she didn't want to disappoint her mom that she didn't like bread. Crazy mom = crazy daughter.

I had been wanting to bake a bread for hubs as a reward for eating all my bread. He likes crunchy stuff so I thought fougasse is perfect. I followed Richard Bertinet's recipe. Everything is mixed by hand, no need to lug out your heavy mixer. I also watched a video of Richard making the bread. The slap and fold technique he uses is not as easy as it looks. It's pretty hard to get from sticky to not so sticky. Also fellow tennis elbow sufferers beware! (I used more of my left hand)

My dough was super sticky and after I had cut the holes, they closed up immediately. There was much struggle and as a result my fougasse doesn't look very pretty. But it tasted good! One thing to note: this bread was made without any final rise. After bulk fermentation, it was shaped and shoved into the oven. I've read some other recipes which include a final rise. But since this is a flat bread, a final rise isn't necessary, right?

After I took it out of the oven (I baked for 15 min), I showed it to hubs and he was very interested. He said he would bring it to work to eat for dinner. The next thing I knew, he had eaten the whole thing. (because it was that good!)

 

Luckily I had torn off a small bit to taste and photograph the crumb! Look at all the little holes in the flat bread. Amazing. I'll definitely make fougasse again.