Tuesday 5 February 2013

Focaccia : 'TWD : Baking with Julia'

Every once in a while, you embark on a recipe where the final result fails so spectacularly, that you have to blog about it. You follow the recipe to the last word, everything happens as the recipe says it should, you check the correct temperature  of the oven and then you pop it in, confident of the final product. And then.... you pull it out of the oven and your heart sinks, it looks nothing like it should .. it's a complete fail!!


That's what happened with me, when I had to make focaccia for this Tuesday's bake together for "TWD: Baking with Julia" group. I popped the dough into the oven expecting a soft, well risen and fluffy bread. Instead I got a hard, thin bread that had hardly risen in the oven.

 
And what I don't understand is, where did I go wrong?? Till I popped it into the oven, the dough behaved as it should. It was soft, elastic and full of bubbles. The dough even squeaked as the recipe said it would. I even rested it in the refrigerator for 36 hours as the recipe recommended. As for spraying the oven with water, I did that too!! And yet... it flopped!! Any suggestions on where I went wrong??

 
What is even weirder, is that even though the bread did not rise in the oven to turn out fluffy and soft, with its liberal topping of thyme and salt, it was still delicious!! My end result was a crispy exterior and a thin chewy interior. The verdict at home was that it would go well with soup, something like bread soup sticks. But, I still can't figure out where I went wrong!??!


While I am more than ready to move on to the next recipe, if you are interested in the recipe, you will find it at Sharmini's blog. Alternately, you can write to me at bakerindisguise@gmail.com and I will mail you the recipe.

34 comments:

  1. Aw, phooey. I'm sorry you didn't get a good rise :( But glad it was still tasty albeit not exactly focaccia!

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    1. I know Liz!! What a bummer it turned out.. like I said we just had them as soup sticks..

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    2. Sorry it did not turn out. It looks like it did everything by the book. Hope it goes better next time.
      Thanks for baking along though.

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    3. I know.. a real pity.. cos I was kinda looking forward to this recipe!!

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  2. Well, whatever you did wrong, I guess I did it too! Two of mine came out flat and crispy, while the third was slightly puffy but still pretty flat. I'd say I just need more practice, but I'm thinking I might just use a different recipe next time. ;) At least it tasted good!

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    1. Haha.. that was the one heartening thing to see some others in the group have the same result!! Agree.. I think I need to try another recipe too!!

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  3. Oh no! At least it came through in a bottom-line sort of way: It was edible, and you were able to enjoy it.

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  4. Sarvani, the bread that you baked still tasted terrific with sea salt and the thyme, just call it flatbread instead of Focaccia and enjoy - all is well that ends well. But I am sure that there are quite a few other wonderful Focaccia recipes out there that will be more to your liking.

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    1. haha..guess I'll have to do that Andrea!! flatbread sounds good!! but I would like to find another focaccia recipe that works for me!!

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  5. My first one came out flat, and I blamed it on not letting it sit out long enough after being in the fridge. But even my second one, I thought it should have risen more since it seemed to do so great during the first two risings and even was bubbly. You are not alone.

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    1. Thats the only heartening thing.. to know I was not only one! and the thing is the dough rose so beautifulyl the first two times.. and that I was pretty confident of the final result!!! ah well.. time to move on...the boca negra seems easy!!

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  6. I had the same result as you, although maybe a little softer on the inside. Mine was definitely not puffy and soft as I expected, although as you said of yours, the taste was fine. I'm also wondering if mine didn't warm up enough after the fridge. I even made a small second batch to try again, and...same result. I would like to solve this mystery, since I would like to make good foccacia!

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    1. Me too.. i would like to know what I did wrong.. will just have to find another recipe for the focaccia!!

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  7. Oh no! I'm sorry it didn't work! I'm glad it still tasted well though.

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    1. yeah.. what a bummer!! maybe i'll go back to the recipe another day!!

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    2. You could maybe try resting it even longer. We rested ours for over 48 hours, unintentionally! We were just too lazy to make it on the day we originally planned and let it go another.

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    3. Oh really!! never thought of that... thanks for the tip!!

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  8. Oh how I hate it when that happens. You do everything by the book and still it doesn't work out:(
    If it is any help your pictures are really making me hungry, beautiful styling Sarvani.
    If I would think of a reason it might be due to the type of flour not all types of flour work well for recipes like this one with long waiting periods. If you want to give it another try, use something with high gluten in it.
    Another problem might be the long wait in the fridge, after 36 hours the yeast might take longer than an hour and a half to come back to activity. You to punch down the dough when you take it out of the fridge and then wait for it to rise again. I have tried recipes when I waited an hour after taking the dough out of the fridge and the bread did not rise at all because the yeast was still cold and inactive
    Sorry for the long comment but I hope that helps

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    1. Sawsan, you dont know how grateful i am for this comment of yours!! thank you so much... this is reeally helpful. both your suggestions make sense... especially about the high gluten flour.. we dont get that easily in India.. so I just made do with my regular flour and you are right, thats where I think the problem lies. Because I waited almost two hours after taking it out.. so that may not be such a problem like the flour.

      This is so helpful.. you have no idea how I've racked my brain to figure out where I might have gone wrong. Thank you so much!! :))

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  9. Awww - sorry to hear you had an issue.
    As Sawsan noted above, it may have needed a longer rise after coming out of the refrigerator. Also, I think the recipe called for stretching out the dough too much - which may have also added to the flatness. I am not sure how dry your dough was - but the I thought the way that the recipe was written left the dough a little too dry. Try adding a little more water next time too.
    I am sure your bread was very tasty with the oil. Don't despair - so many wonderful things come out of your kitchen, I am sure you will figure it out :-)

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    1. Hmmm... you have a point Cher, I think I stretched it out a bit too much.. will keep it in mind.. the next time I tackle this beast!! Thanks for the encouraging words as always Cher!! :)

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  10. I had problems with the dough rising in the oven as well. I think after all the different risings and the wait in the fridge, that the yeast just ran out of steam. I will not be making this again. Your flatbread looks good, though!

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    1. Maybe not this recipe but I do want to give focaccia a shot!! I enjoy it.. and want to get it right atleast once!!

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  11. Beautiful photography. From our experience, adding to baking bread, especially if you live in a humid climate, can be problematic. This led to more bread failures when we lived in the Pacific Northwest, than almost anything else. Would definitely say try this recipe again, maybe with a shorter resting period, and less or no steam. In the end, though, taste and how much fun you had making the recipe are what matters.

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    1. Oh.. thats interesting.. the more I think about it.. i think that long resting period in the fridge and the fact that it got stretched too much, may have been the culprit!! Thanks for helping me out.. really appreciate it!!

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  12. I am curious about the article "PC's budget cuts..." :) Your bread is a beautiful color and the taste is what matters after all. Mine was even flatter, more like a cracker...As Sawsan commented maybe the flour is at fault. I made the soda bread again recently with bread flour that had added gluten and the bread was just insane. Now I baked with organic flour from red wheat berries...

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    1. hahaa.. oh that article is nothing... although I usually put an article with relevance to what i've baked.. in this case.. its nothing.. its something about the Finance minister announcing budget cuts!! I agree, Sawsan was right, unfortunately we dont get bread flour easily in India and since you say it makes such a difference, I should try and get my hands on it!!

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  13. Honestly, yours looks really good- even without the rise. It could be a whole host of reasons why it's not fluffy. Humidity, age of yeast, cold air, you name it! I bake a lot and you really just never know how something will turn out. But the taste is really the most important part!

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    1. Thanks Renee for the encouraging words!! all i know is that i want to give the focaccia one more shot.. I just have to get it right!! :)

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    2. I think yours looks pretty. Mine wasn't that fluffy either, but it sure tasted good. I agree with Renee that it could be a number of reasons why it didn't rise, but the main thing is ithe taste.

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    3. Oh thanks Elaine for the kind words.. will give it a shot in a couple of weeks.. more keen than ever to get it right!!

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  14. Oh no! The recipe calls for two TBL of yeast, maybe you mistakenly used teaspoons? It's a beautiful rustic looking loaf; and what counts in the end is the taste, yes?

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    1. I was okay with the yeast Cathleen, although the more i think of it.. the more I realise the problem was with the flour.. we dont get high-gluten flour in India and that may have been the culprit, especially with the long resting time involved!!

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