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Anytime is a great time to enjoy different types of flatter breads such as french fougasse or italian foccacia or greek lagana and others too. But summertime seems like a great opportunity to experiment with and to taste the many variations which can be served with marinated and/or pickled vegetables, cheeses, cured meats, etc.. I had previously prepared a more classic version with tomatoes and olives so it was time to prepare one using potatoes (as a topping as well as part the dough) which makes it quite tender and soft ! I used a combination of different starches such as light wheat flour and darker buckwheat flower, combined with mashed potato. I like to use my oven drip pan as a baking dish (which measures 36 x 34 X 3 cm) to make 1 extra large and flatter version but feel free to use a medium sized baking dish for a higher and fluffier verion or several smaller baking dishes ! Enjoy... :)

potato focaccia

08.07.2015

1 large or 2 medium breads

ingredients

  • 375 grams of medium or large potatoes (boiled and mashed, to be part of the dough)
  • 21 grams fresh yeast (1/2 cube)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 375 grams warm water (1 ½ cups)
  • 250 grams wheat bread flour (2 ½ cups)
  • 250 grams buckwheat flour (1 ½ cups)
    *(the flours can be replaced with 500 grams / 4 cups of all-purpose flour)
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
  • 250 grams of small potatoes (sliced very thinly as a topping)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh unchopped rosemary
  • 1-2 tbsp coarse sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • *optional : 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese (extra garnish)

instructions

  • peel and quarter the 375 grams of medium or large potatoes and boil for 10-15 minutes in salted boiling water until tender, then remove from water and drain and let cool completely then mash or push through a potato press
  • crumble the fresh yeast in the warm water mixed with sugar and let sit for 15 minutes until frothy and bubbly
  • in a mixing bowl (if mixing by hand) or in the mixing bowl of a mixer (with a dough hook), place the salt on the bottom of the bowl, then cover with the wheat and buckwheat flours, the mashed potato and finally the water-yeast mix and combine well and knead for several minutes (or longer by hand by flouring a surface and kneading) until elastic
  • place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours
  • oil a large oven drip pan or one medium sized baking pan or several smaller pans (divide if using several pans) and turn out the dough and spread it out and flatten into the baking pan(s) and let rise for 1 hour, covered with a damp tea towel
  • very thinly slice your small washed potatoes (using a mandoline or by hand) to a thickness of 1 mm and let soak in salted cold water for 30 minutes then drain and pat dry
  • toss the potoato slices with the olive oil and a pinch of salt
  • preheat your oven to 200°C
  • uncover the risen dough and gently dimple with your fingers and lay out the potato slices on top, overlapping them by half, then sprinkle with coarse salt, ground black pepper and fresh rosemary (add grated parmesan too if you like)
  • bake for 35–40 minutes until golden-brown then remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan
  • slice before serving the same day or the next day