FOUGASSE RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Rub the fresh yeast into the flour using your fingertips as if making a crumble, or stir in the dried yeast. Add the salt and water. Hold the bowl with one hand and mix the ingredients around with the other (or use the rounded end of a scraper) for 2-3 minutes until the dough starts to form. Begin to work the dough.
• Once you have worked your dough you can flour your work surface lightly, place the dough on top and form it into a ball by folding each edge in turn into the centre of the dough and pressing down well with your thumb, rotating the ball as you go. Turn the whole ball over and stretch and tuck the edges under. Rest in bowl in a warm place under a tea towel until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 250c/fan 230/gas 10 (or as high as your oven will go) an hour in advance and put in a baking stone, flat baking sheet or upturned roasting tin. Flour your work surface well. Use the rounded end of a scraper to release the dough, so that you can scoop it out easily in one piece and transfer it to the work surface without stretching it. Be careful not to deflate the dough but spread it out to cover a square of your work surface. Generously flour the top.
• Using the flat edge of your scraper, cut the dough into two rectangles, and then cut each piece into three rectangular pieces. Handle the dough as gently as you can so that it stays as light and full of air as possible. Keep the pieces well floured.
• Take one piece of dough and use the flat edge of your scraper to make a large diagonal cut across the centre, making sure that you don’t go right to the edges but cut all the way through on to your work surface. Make three smaller diagonal cuts fanning out on each side of the central one. Gently open out the slits to form holes. Be bold.
• Lift onto a flat-edged baking tray and slide onto the hot baking stone or tray. Do this quickly to avoid letting heat out. Turn the oven down to 230c/fan 210/gas 8 and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

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.