Week 1 of yeast breadmaking - not quite a success - what should I do differently?

M

music-city-missy

Well-known member
So I made focaccia and I decided to let it rise in the fridge most of the day rather than a short rise on the counter. I think a longer rise gives breads a more 'yeasty' flavor which I love.

Everything was going fine. It was beautiful. took pictures before popping into the oven. I topped it with caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes that had been packed in oil, kalamata olives, pine nuts, goat cheese, rosemary and a little of my fresh pecorino/parmesan mixture. Preheated the oven at least 20 minutes while I waited for it to do it's second rise so it should have been ready.

Put it in the oven and it was looking wonderful. Took it out because it looked done on the top but when I lifted it up out of the pan with a spatula, the bottom had very little color so I returned it to the oven. BIG mistake!!! In just a few more minutes the caramelized onions that were getting a little toasty got burned and so did the sundried tomatoes. If it hadn't been for that, it was beautiful and the bread portion was still very good.

So I am not sure if something is wrong with my oven since it took longer. Or should I partially bake then top. Or should I loosely cover at some point. I definitely know NOT to fully caramelize the onions next time, just toss with oil and slightly cook so they aren't the dried up ones you see on some focaccias and pizzas. Or should I go free form and put on a hot pizza baking stone?

BTW - thanks everyone for the birthday wishes. DH is still feeling guilty and DD still hasn't remembered.

 
I use a pizza stone when I make focaccia

Because you are putting so much stuff on top of the focaccia you would treat it pretty much like pizza- ie bake it on a lower oven rack so that the stuff doesn't get burned and the bottom gets done. I like using a pizza stone and sometimes I finish the focaccia with caramelized onions and cut olives AFTER it is out of the oven. You didn't do anything wrong at all- you just need to do it again and tweak your baking method.

 
What I do these days is line a rimless cookie sheet with parchment

(or a peel or even an upside down pizza pan). The parchment should be very lightly oiled and sprinkled with cornmeal. I do all the shaping and final rise on it. When I pop it in the oven, I slide the parchment off the pan, right onto the oven rack. I get a nice crust this way. Just use the pan (or peel) and slide it under the parchment to bring it out of the oven and then slide the bread still on the parchment onto your cooling surface.

 
I usually bake mine for 5 minutes without any topping. Then,

I remove it from the oven, add toppings and put it back in the oven.

 
Did you bring your focaccia back to room temperature before you put it in the oven?

If not, the top would be baked and done before the bottom. The top would start baking right away while the bottom was still cold.

 
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