The Ultimate Sandwich Focaccia
Low-oil, Austrian supermarket flour, overnight in the pan. Built to be sliced for sandwiches.
🌾 Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat flour W 700 | 540 g | 90% |
| Wheat flour W 1600 | 60 g | 10% |
| Ice-cold water (4 °C) | 420 g | 70% |
| Olive oil Softens the crumb | 15 g | 2.5% |
| Fine sea salt | 12 g | 2% |
| Instant dry yeast Or 3× the weight in fresh yeast | 2 g | 0.3% |
| Ingredient | Amount | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|
| Warm water | 35 g | 5.8% |
| Salt | 4 g | 0.7% |
Method
- 1
The all-in machine mix
Put 540 g W 700, 60 g W 1600, 2 g dry yeast, 15 g olive oil and all 420 g of ice-cold water into the mixer bowl. Mix on low for 2 minutes, then on medium for 8–10 minutes. At 70% hydration the dough clears the sides and wraps around the hook instead of turning to soup.
- 2
Salt goes in last
Drop to low speed and sprinkle 12 g salt directly onto the dough. Once it is incorporated (about 1 minute), mix on medium-high for a final 2 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- 3
Into the pan
Rest the dough in the bowl for 20 minutes. Rub a generous layer of solid Ceres or Alsan over the bottom and sides of the seasoned blue-steel pan. Tip the dough into the centre, flip it once to coat, and gently push it outwards.
- 4
Cold retard in the pan (12–24 h)
Cover the pan airtight (an inverted baking sheet or a large clean bag) and put it straight into the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. At 70% hydration no water leaks out overnight, so the fat barrier stays intact.
- 5
Wake it up and stretch
Take the covered pan out of the fridge. The dough has relaxed overnight; gently press and pull it into the corners. Leave it covered on the counter.
- 6
The jiggle test
Proof for 2–4 hours. Ignore the clock: it is ready when it has visibly grown into the pan and wobbles like a water balloon when you shake the pan.
- 7
Brine, dimple, bake
Preheat the oven to 220 °C top/bottom heat. Stir 4 g salt into 35 g warm water and pour it evenly over the dough. With wet fingers, press straight down to the steel to make deep dimples. Bake 25–30 minutes until deeply golden.
- 8
The hot release
Straight out of the oven, run a thin spatula around the edges, give the pan one firm horizontal shake to check it is loose, and slide it onto a rack. Cool at least 1 hour before slicing.
Version history (3) ▸
- v3.0 — Supermarket-safe 70% hydration 2026-09-01 · Stable
Dropped hydration to 70% so standard Austrian supermarket flour stops leaking water. Kept 2.5% olive oil in the dough for soft, sliceable sandwiches. Solid, water-free Ceres on seasoned blue steel, one all-in machine mix, overnight retard in the pan, jiggle-test proofing and an immediate hot release.
Ice-cold water (4 °C): 480 g → 420 g (−60 g) - v2.0 — 1,100 g pan-bulk and solid fat 2026-08-22 · Archived
Scaled flour to 600 g (about 1,100 g dough) for real sandwich thickness. Added 2.5% olive oil to the dough to tenderise the crumb. Switched to a solid fat barrier (Ceres) and an overnight retard directly in the pan. Failure: Austrian supermarket flour (W 700) could not hold 80% water — free water bled out during proofing, broke through the Ceres and glued the dough to the steel.
Wheat flour W 700: 450 g → 540 g (+90 g) Wheat flour W 1600: 50 g → 60 g (+10 g) Ice-cold water: 400 g → 480 g (+80 g) Olive oil: +15 g Fine sea salt: 10 g → 12 g (+2 g) Instant dry yeast: 3 g → 2 g (−1 g) Warm water: 30 g → 35 g (+5 g) Salt: 3 g → 4 g (+1 g) - v1.0 — 80% hydration, zero-oil baseline 2026-08-15 · Archived
Initial 500 g flour prototype (900 g dough). Stretched too thin for a 30×40 cm pan, stalled in the cold retard, and liquid olive oil soaked into the wet dough, so it stuck hard to the blue steel. No fat in the dough meant a rubbery, chewy crumb.