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If you haven’t guessed it already, I am currently a little obsessed with all things no-knead. Now look, I love sourdough but life has been a bit manic recently and my attention span is spent. No knead recipes gives you the ability to make excellent bread with almost no work. This focaccia is maybe the easiest of all no knead breads, I can’t see how you eliminate any more of the work because really there isn’t any. No knead breads work because they are risen very slowly and as they do so the gluten develops without the need for kneading. It’s an incredible technique that is widely credited to Jim Lahey a baker from NYC that help promote the technique and published the first widely popular recipe for it in the New York Times in 2006. Whilst this was the start of the techniques popularity for a new generation of bread bakers, the idea of no-knead breads actually go back much further than the early 2000’s. There is evidence that similar methods were used as far back as the 1800’s, but there is no doubt Lahey’s method brought the bread to popularity for a new generation.
For this particular recipe I wanted to make something with za’atar, one of my favourite seasoning blends. Confusingly za’atar is both a specific herb and a herb blend, the latter being what you’re likely to have heard of before. The herb za’atar is grown across the middle east and both the herb itself and the blend are incredibly important to Levantine cooking. Traditionally the blend would be made from za’atar and mixed with sesame seeds, sumac and salt, although this blend will vary a lot depending on where it is made. These days most shop-bought blends outside of the Middle East are made with thyme, oregano and sometimes marjoram.
One of my favourite dishes made with za’atar is probably its most famous use, man’oushe, a thin flatbread spread with a mixture of oil and za’atar. Because I wanted to make another no knead recipe and it to be a loaf rather than individual flatbreads I settled on a focaccia, a bread made with lots of olive oil already I thought it would be the perfect pairing up, and I am thrilled with the finished recipe, its delicious. You get the wonderful flavour from the olive oil and za’atar and the chewy spongy texture of the focaccia, a match made in heaven.
As you may also know no-knead breads are very often made inside a cast iron dutch oven, the heat of the pot helps with oven spring and crust development and a lot of this is down to steam. The pot traps the steam released from the bread which helps the bread open up fully and helps to create a light crisp crust. With focaccia a pot isn’t an option of course so instead I introduced steam using my oven. After moving in my new house and finding a disaster of an oven I needed a replacement and I settled on the AEG Steam Bake (BPS556020M), and I chose that model because of bread. The oven has all the classic functionality you’d beed but it also includes a stem bake function where water is added to a reservoir at the bottom of the oven and it creates a steamy environment which is brilliant for bread. I tested this recipe multiple times and on the occasions I used the steam function the bread rose higher and had a more crisp crust, a win-win. The oven also comes with a food sensor which you can use to check the internal temperature of your roast, or even your baked custards or breads. More importantly, because I hate cleaning my oven, it is Pyrolytic meaning it self cleans!
No Knead Za’atar Focaccia
Focaccia
500g strong white bread flour
7g fast action dried yeast
2 tsp fine sea salt
2 tsp caster sugar
450ml cold water
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Topping
2 tbsp za’atar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the tin
roasted sesame seeds (optional)
To make the dough add the flour, yeast, salt and sugar to a large bowl. Pour in the water and use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix together until everything is hydrated, just making sure there are no packets of flour. Add 2 tbsp of the olive oil and mix briefly to combine, drizzle over the last of the olive oil. Thats it. Thats the entirety of the work. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
When you want to bake the loaf remove the dough from the fridge and generously oil a 9x13 tin. I’m not a big fan of non-stick bakeware but if you have one it can be helpful for this recipe as they dough can sometimes stick to the base of the tin. To prevent this you can also line the base with parchment paper.
Deflate the dough by folding the edges of the dough away from the bowl and into the middle of the dough. Tip the ball of dough out into the prepared tin and gently press and stretch it out the corners, not worrying that it perfectly fills the tin, it will spread out as it rises. Cover the tin and set the focaccia aside until it has doubled and is visibly bubbly on the surface with a generous wobble, this will take about 2-3 hours at room temperature.
Using the AEG Steam Bake oven add 200ml water to the reservoir in the bottom of the oven, set the oven to True Fan Cooking and press the Plus Steam Button. Set the temperature to 200ºC. Using a different oven preheat the oven to 220ºC (200ºC Fan).
For the topping mix together the za’atar and oil to make a thin paste. Drizzle this all over the risen dough and gently spread with your hands to cover the entire loaf. At this point your fingers should be nice and oiled up, but if not rub a little oil over your fingers to lubricate. Use your fingers to dimple the loaf all over. Finish by sprinkling the dough generously with flaked sea salt. The za’atar blend will already include sesame seeds but I like to sprinkle a little extra but this is optional.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and carefully remove from the tin, setting onto a wire rack to cool completely.