Whole Wheat Sourdough Festive Focaccia by Christina Gurunian

Its the festive season in Montreal,Canada. Yayy !

Despite the pandemic and celebrating Christmas & New year without dear friends & extended family, I was blessed enough to have my parents, and brother all live under one roof. This made the holiday season more joyful & happy. Of course, when we talk about the holiday season we talk about festive breads & colourful garnishes that add warmth & joy to the table.

So here comes Christina’s whole wheat, and wholesome focaccia bread!

Dough

• 300 g water
• 150 g sourdough starter
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 10 g salt
• olive oil
• 480 g whole wheat flour /non-bleached flour

Garnishing

• Cherry tomatoes
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Kalamata olives
• Salt
• Dry oregano
• Olive oil

The process:

1. Mix all the dough ingredients together in a stand mixer.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours, then transfer it to the fridge and let it ferment overnight.
3. The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and let it rest for another few hours.
4. Shape the dough to a rectangular form to fit a 10x 15 or 9 x 15 baking tray.
5. Put the dough in the tray, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for additional 2 hours or until doubled in size.
6. When the dough is puffy and doubled in size use your fingers to make holes in the dough.
7. Add olive oil generously.
8. Add the garnishes to your taste.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
10. Let it cool for at least 30 minutes.
11. Enoy! Buon appetito