Put 10 food bloggers in a room, and you get one of the most delicious potlucks ever. On Oct. 21, Danielle of Habeas Brulee hosted a food bloggers’ potluck in her Brooklyn home.
Danielle and her partner Dave were gracious hosts, respecting every…

Still think that’s a perfectly gorgeous loaf, though. Mercy. :)

I would second Elizabeth’s comment about the turning-of-the-dough truc she found in Artisan Baking Across America. Back in my bakery-planning days (now behind me, at least for now), I took a pair of week-long intensive classes at the King Arthur Flour Baking Education Center in Vermont, where we were taught to mix doughs to a rough shag, decant them into tubs, turn them out and fold/turn them twice in 30-minute increments, and then let them finish fermenting. It was always something to see: firm, rough, shaggy doughs would smooth right out; while loose, wet doughs would acquire more structure and spring, even as they remained soft. (One note: This fabulous trick does not work on brioche, where the amount of butter and egg necessitates mixing to full gluten development in the mixer.)

Did I mention that that’s a fine-looking focaccia, there? :)

in re: hand kneading wet dough

Personally, I love the challenge of kneading wet dough. I turn it with a dough scraper and kind of scrabble and pull at it with the other hand for about 10 minutes. It’s usually still pretty soupy at that point but I somehow pour it into the rising bowl and cover it to sit on the counter. Then 20 minutes later, using a brilliant technique I learned from reading “Artisan Baking Across America” by Maggie Glezer, I pour out the dough onto a very lightly floured board and gently fold it (as best I can) like an envelope. Back into the rising bowl it goes for another 20 minutes. I repeat the process twice more and invariably on the 3rd time, the dough is still very soft but it has become quite smooth and pillow like. I cover it and then leave it alone to finish rising.

-Elizabeth

P.S. The reason I’ve never resorted to using a dough hook is that I don’t have one (unless you call my hands dough hooks. :^))

Very interesting that you put the roasted garlic directly into the dough! Have you tried putting slices of garlic and olive oil on top of the focaccia? We usually add sliced onions and a bit of olive oil – they get beautifully caramelized.

The other thing you might like to try is adding a small amount of whole wheat flour to the dough – it lends a lovely nutty flavour to the bread.

-Elizabeth