Fougasse du Temps Perdu

I'm always looking for creative ways to use extra dough.  Laminated Fougasse is a perfect solution for those of you who have a few chunks of French dough lying around.  I learned this technique from Christian Vabret at a Bread Bakers Guild of America event in 2007.  Vabret is the creator and mastermind behind the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (World Baking Cup).  It was an honor to attend one of his courses.  He, like many seasoned French bakers, glowed with passion and joy when talking about bread.

Fougasse is a traditional French flat bread.  Just like its cousin, the Italian focaccia, it is often used as a means of getting rid of bits of leftovers.  Most often, fougasse is filled with olives, lardons, cheese, and/or nuts.  My fougasse is a throwback to my grandma's raisin stuffing while embracing the traditional roots of the classic French fougasse, thus..."Fougasse du Temps Perdu" or "Fougasse of Times Past."

I should note, I majored in French in college, during which time we spent no less than 3 days discussing the madeleine scene from Proust's A la Recherche du Temps Perdu.

To assemble this loaf, first, make the filling.  I pureed raisins, caramelized vidalia onions, rendered bacon fat, coarse black pepper, fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme in a food processor.  The resulting paste is a little bit sweet and a little bit savory, just like the stuffing I remember.

Use a one pound scrap of French dough for the base of the fougasse.  Roll the dough into a 12" by 6" rectangle, spread four ounces of the paste onto half of the dough and fold the dough over.  If you've ever laminated puff pastry or croissant dough, it's the same idea.  Press the edges of the dough together to seal in the paste.  Roll the dough into a second rectangle, this time 6"x 18" and fold in thirds toward the center as shown above.  You may need to use a liberal amount of flour when rolling the dough but be sure to brush it off before making the folds.  Let the dough rest for 20 minutes and repeat this step.  

Let the dough rest for an additional 30 minutes before rolling into a 12"x 6" rectangle.  Cut through the rectangle using a pizza cutter or dough knife in the pattern illustrated above.  When you pick the dough up to transfer it onto the peel (I recommend using a piece of parchment as it can be really sticky), pull the cuts open to transform the lump of laminated dough into a beautiful fougasse.  I baked mine at 425°F for about 20 minutes.  It should be slightly puffy and crispy but not too dark.  After it is baked, while it is still hot, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.

This is the perfect bread to present to your host(ess) the next time you're invited over for dinner.  Fougasse is  a very communal loaf.  It's fun to break off pieces and pass around as an appetizer or meal time treat.

If you would like more information about the recipe or procedure for making this fougasse, please email me!

All photos courtesy of my dear friend Hana from Haniela's Food & Photography

I am submitting this bread to The Wild Yeast Blog's weekly YeastSpotting post.

America's Best Raisin Bread

The contest application was sitting on my desk for weeks.  As least once a day, I thumbed through it, read the rules, re-read the rules and searched for inspiration.  The sales team was requesting a "muesli" bread, whatever that is.  "If the Muesli Bread includes raisins, maybe it can crossover into a contest entry," they said.  It went beyond a daily glance of the contest entry form, it was listed on my priority list (which I do not create, therefor it must actually be a legitimate priority and not just something I would like to get to today...this week...this month....)

I used my ride home from work to think of the possibilities.  I knew I wanted lots of healthy bits and lots of texture using pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, oats, bran and a variety of flours.  I would add more flavor with a wheat/rye levain and a poolish starter.  Finally, the raisins would have to be big, juicy and rustic. 

The bread:

After brainstorming for a few days, I came up with a formula and put it to the test.  I shaped a few dozen loaves and I was left with a mass of dough that didn't weigh enough to put into the pocket divider.  I didn't want to throw it away so I dumped it onto the bench, covered it in oats and cut it into rough strips.  I twisted the strips which created a spiral of oats down the loaf. 

Once the samples were baked, I fell in love with the twists and so did everyone else.  The flavor and texture were exactly the eating experience I was hoping to create.  The twisted sticks had a unique character that I adored.  After determining that American's don't really know what muesli is (I don't know what muesli is), the bread was named "Granola Twist."

The contest:

After a little more testing, I filled out the entry form.  My friend Hana took beautiful photos of my loaves to enclose with the application.  I licked the stamp and crossed my fingers!!!

Last week, I got a call from the California Raisin Board telling me I made the finals.  I immediately started calling everyone who helped me get this bread from idea to product but it was Yom Kippur and none of my friends were answering.  I had to sit on the news all weekend before anyone could rejoice with me!!!

The Bake-Off:

On October 14th, I fly to Manhattan Kansas to bake off my bread alongside the other nine finalists.  Three of us will be selected and the winners get to spend a week in Napa Valley touring the California wine country.  My friends at The Patisserie in Milford, PA are donating bakery space to the cause by letting me run a test in their kitchen this week. 

Wish me luck!!!!

I'll Bring the Bread

My friend Alex recently celebrated her marriage to Ciaran at her childhood home in Sumner, Maine.  Alex and Ciaran were wed in city hall some months ago but they wanted to have a party to share the even with their friends and families.  We gorged ourselves on everything from whole roasted pig to gourmet lobster spring rolls to lemon poppy seed cupcakes. The wedding guests spent the weekend in a tent community that would put the Boy Scouts of America to shame.

Kevin and I almost didn't make it to Maine.  If we didn't have a minivan full of bread and cupcakes we would have probably turned back.  It was to be our first night spent away from the kids. In the chaos of our toy infested home, we couldn't find the battery charger for our camera.  We stopped at the store on the way out of town to buy a cheap replacement camera only to find out our mortgage check  cleared from our bank account a couple days earlier than I anticipated...our debit card was declined and we had no back-up plan.  

Kevin's boss was supposed to pay him on the Thursday before our trip but he never showed with the check (typical in the construction business).  Even though I was certain he wouldn't answer his phone at 8am on Saturday morning, Kevin called to see if we could get his pay.  Good news - he answered and he had the check for us.  Bad news - we had to drive 2 hours in the wrong direction to get it.  

At least we found out about our fiscal irresponsibility before we emptied our gas tank.  We would have been stranded in New Hampshire, calling the bride before her big day with an SOS.

We made it to Maine a few, ten,  hours later with the bread and the cupcakes in tow.  It was a little wet, a little cold but a lot of fun.