Ingredients
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9g packet Bioreal Dried Organic Instant Yeast
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10g Fine Salt
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325ml warm water
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Extra flour for dusting
Fougasse
Fougasse hails from the south of France, where it’s baked into beautiful leaf shapes and served warm alongside meals often with a good glug of olive oil and a glass of wine (or two). Traditionally Fougasse was used by bakers to test their oven’s heat (baking a small amount of dough before baking larger breads), fougasse has now grown into a rustic leaf shaped favourite for tearing and sharing.
Our version swaps the olive oil for golden British rapeseed oil, but keeping all that Provençal charm with a sunny, home-grown touch. Light, crisp, and irresistibly rippable and dippable. This one’s easy to make and is as visually striking as it is tasty. It's always fun to see who grabs the last piece from the table.
Method
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Bring it together
In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the warm water and rapeseed oil, then mix with a dough scraper until it comes together into a rough dough. -
Knead and rest
Tip the dough onto your work surface and knead for about 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Pop it back in the bowl, cover, and leave to rise for around 1 hour, or until doubled in size. -
Turning out the dough
Heat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Tip the dough out gently and spread it out so it is about 2cm thick (use floured hands to pull it out to a flat shape, don't worry, it's supposed to be rustic, just try not to deflate the dough). Sprinkle some flour over the top of the dough (if you have rice flour or semolina use this as it will give some contrast and add some crunch), cover with a tea towel and let it rest for 10 mins. -
Shaping
Line a baking tray with parchment. Using a flexible dough scraper cut the dough into triangles in a size that will fit onto your baking tray, then make a cut down the middle from the pointed tip to the middle of the base leaving a cm from the edge. Tip your dough scraper on its end and make the angled cuts on each side of the first cut (like a leaf vein pattern) again leaving a cm from the edge. Gently pull the cuts open with your fingers so they don’t close up as it rises. Cover again with the tea towel and let it rest for 5 mins. -
Bake
Bake for 10–15 minutes until golden brown and crisp at the edges. -
Cool and enjoy
Cool slightly on a wire rack, then serve warm for dipping, tearing, or soaking up soups and stews.
Variations:
Add some seeds, caramelised onion, olives, sundried tomatoes, cheese or whatever you like to the dough to make them even more interesting.
