a nerdy quest resolved?

While visiting Sam and Marja in Minneapolis a few weeks ago, I mentioned to Sam that I had made focaccia some time earlier. Little did I know that this particular bread had become such a holy grail for him. He convinced me to post the recipe. I hope it holds up to his high standards from Punch. This recipe is from Baking Illustrated, edited by the crew of Cooks Illustrated. The secrets, aside from blasts of 900 degree heat, are a sponge and a potato. If I remember Punch’s correctly, this has a higher rise, but I think that has to do with the lack of giant brick oven.

- Lilly Steinberg

Dough:
1 medium baking potato, peeled and quartered
1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast (I use active dry)
3 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl and pan
1 ¼ teaspoons salt

Topping:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
¾ teaspoons coarse sea salt or 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1. Simmer the potato in boiling water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and cool until it can be handled comfortably. Press through the fine disk on a ricer or grate through the large holes on a box grater. Reserve 1 ½ cups lightly packed potato.

2. Meanwhile, mix the yeast, ½ cup flour and ½ cup warm water with a wooden spoon until combined. Cover the sponge tightly with plastic wrap and set aside until bubbly, about 20 minutes. (Since I used active dry yeast, I dissolved the yeast in the water before mixing with the flour.) Add 1 ½ cups of flour to the sponge, then beat with a wooden spoon 5 minutes. Add 1 ¼ cups flour, along with the remaining dough ingredients. Continue beating until the dough comes together. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead, adding the remaining ¼ cup flour as needed, until the dough becomes elastic and sticky, 4-5 minutes. (Step 2 can also be done in a stand mixer or food processor. Add all the remaining ingredients to the sponge at once and process until smooth and elastic: 5 minutes for the stand mixer, 40 seconds for the food processor).

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area until the dough is puffy and doubled in volume (about 1 hour).

4. With wet hands, press the dough flat into a generously oiled 15 ½ by 10 ½ inch rimmed baking sheet. If the dough won’t stretch into the corners, cover with a damp cloth, let it relax for 15 minutes and try again. Alternatively, you can divide the dough in half and free-form two 8 inch rounds. Cover the dough with oil-sprayed plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until dough is puffy and doubled in volume, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

5. With two wet fingers, dimple the risen dough at regular intervals. Make sure the dimples are deep enough to catch pools of oil and salt.

6. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and rosemary leaves.

7. Adjust an oven rack to a lower middle position. Bake at 425 until the bottom crust is golden brown and crisp, 23-25 minutes. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Best served warm.