Fougasse is a type flatbread baked in Provence and likely to have additions like olives, cheese, or garlic. Traditionally used to assess the temperature of a wood fired oven, Fougasse was made daily. The time it would take to bake gives an idea of the oven temperature and whether the rest of the bread can be loaded (hence the French phrase ‘il ne faut pas brûler la fougasse’: ‘do not burn the fougasse’).
One of the shows I like to watch is The Great British Baking Show. I enjoy the creativity of the bakers and the variety of baked goods that the show highlights. So, when the Extraordinary Breads collection included Fougassa, one of the technical challenges from season 1 of the show, I knew I had to try this recipe.
The King Arthur Baking Company Recipe calls for chopped onions and olives in the dough. Since, I absolutely hate olives, I decided to add some seeds instead (sunflower, poppy and sesame). I also made two flatbreads instead of one really large one.
One of the flatbreads was cut with the traditional slits. For the other flatbread, I cut it to look like a palm leaf. While this idea worked well, when I make this for Palm Sunday, I will cut the tips so that they are pointed rather than blunted.
After baking the flatbread tasted great, especially when pieces were dipped into garlic-herb infused olive oil.
I have now baked each of the twelve Extraordinary Breads. I think I need to try some low carb baking for a while.