Walnut Fougasse Bread

This bread is an adaptation on Rose Levy Beranbaum’s bread from her book “The Bread Bible.” It is made with the straight dough method, so in other words it doesn’t require various starter doughs, however this is not a quick bread to make. Even though the total rising time is only about 2 hours, somehow it seems to add up to more. That said, this bread turned out absolutely wonderful. It has a nice nutty flavor provided by the walnuts and a very nice texture. The shape and form of the bread is reminiscent of focaccia and it is also made with quite a bit of oil. Rose Levy Beranbaum calls for using walnut oil, however we used a good quality olive oil instead and the bread still had a prominent walnut flavor.

Even though this bread requires ½ cup of oil, the bread isn’t oily one bit. Instead, it has a wonderful texture and crunch and it is moist and tasty. This bread is perfect to serve with a nice sharp cheese and a good wine either as an appetizer or as a meal as is.

Ingredients

3 cups plus ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 ¾ teaspoons instant yeast
½ tablespoons salt
1 ¼ cup scalded and cooled skim milk
½ cup oil (walnut oil preferably)
¾ cup walnuts

Method:

Mix together 3 cups of flour with the yeast, then add the salt. Mix in the walnuts, the milk and 2 tablespoons of oil. Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together, then knead it on a floured surface for about 5 minutes to develop the gluten, and try adding as little as possible of the reserved flour. Cover the dough with the inverted bowl and let it rest for 20 minutes. Knead the dough for another 5 minutes.

Coat a 2 quart bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil. Roll the dough into the container and cover with doubled again, about 30 to 45 minutes. Again, turn the dough onto the counter, press it down and knead in another tablespoon of oil. Bring back to the bowl again and let rise for another 30 plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 45 min to an hour. Turn the dough on a counter, press it down and knead in another tablespoon of oil. Return to the oiled bowl, cover and let rest until minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a baking stone or a baking sheet on the lowest shelf in the oven. Now turn the dough onto a lightly flavored surface, give it a business letter turn (stretch the dough out and fold it on top of it a couple of times). Let rest for another 30 minutes.

Brush a sheet pan with another tablespoon of oil. Set the dough on it and press out to an oval shape about 9x15x ½ inches. Brush it with another tablespoon of oil. Score a couple of slashes on the dough and let rise for another 15 minutes. Bake the bread for 20 to 25 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Turn the pan around half-way through baking. Let cool on a wire rack.