FOUGASSE BREAD RECIPES

Steps:

• Combine the yeast, flour, sugar, salt, milk, water and olive oil in the bread machine pan and process on the dough setting. At the end of the cycle, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead in the olives. Turn the bread pan over the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each piece into an 8x10" rectangle. Place each rectangle on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Make two rows of 6 to 8 evenly spaced diagonal slashes, leaving 1" at the border and in between the rows, cutting all the way through the dough. Open these slits by pulling them well apart with your hands (this traditional pattern looks like a leaf.) Coat the flatbreads with olive oil and set aside to rise until the dough is puffed, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• When loaves are puffy, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack.

Steps:

• Stir together sugar and warm water in bowl of mixer. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)
• Whisk flour into yeast mixture until combined well. Let starter rise, loosely covered with plastic wrap, 30 minutes.
• Add sugar, salt, crushed anise seeds, water, orange-flower water, zest, 1/3 cup oil, and 11/4 cups flour to starter and beat at medium speed until smooth. Mix in remaining 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, at low speed until a soft dough forms.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, sprinkling surface lightly with flour if dough is very sticky, until smooth and elastic (dough will remain slightly sticky), 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl, turning dough to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve. Pat out each half into an oval (about 12 inches long and 1/4 inch thick), then transfer to 2 lightly oiled large baking sheets.
• Using a very sharp knife or a pastry scraper, make a cut down center of each oval "leaf," cutting all the way through to baking sheet and leaving a 1-inch border on each end of cut. Make 3 shorter diagonal cuts on each side of original cut, leaving a 1-inch border on each end of cuts, to create the look of leaf veins (do not connect cuts). Gently pull apart cuts about 1 1/2 inches with your fingers. Let dough stand, uncovered, until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes.
• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Brush loaves with remaining tablespoon oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake, switching position of baking sheets halfway through baking, until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes total. Transfer loaves to a rack and cool to warm or room temperature.