January 12, 2013

Olive and Sun-Dried Tomato Fougasse

Fougasse (foo-gahss) is a traditional Provencal herbed bread, that is formed and slashed before baking to resemble a leaf- or tree-shape.

I used sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives for this recipe, along with rosemary. It makes wonderful, savory bread that's great to serve with soup, or as I've discovered, as a snack after slicing a piece in half and filling it with a few slices of cheese. 

During my search for a recipe for fougasse, I came across many recipes that sounded so good, I may have to try them all! Some of the recipes included chorizo and thyme; onion and bacon; red onion and tomatoes; lemon and rosemary; gorgonzola and walnut; and dried cherry and pecan. So, you can see that this bread is extremely versatile... all you have to do is choose your favorite ingredients to make it your own.
I adapted this recipe from here and have made it twice in the last couple of weeks, learning as I went what worked and what didn't. As a result, I came up with some different ingredient quantities, as well as an easier way to incorporate the olives and tomatoes. The original recipe asks you to mix the olives and tomatoes into the dough using a stand mixer and dough hook. It doesn't work well and just ends up being a gloppy mess. So, I removed the dough to a floured mat and kneaded the dough by hand, adding the  olives and tomatoes in the process.

The original recipe also calls for an overnight rise. Instead, I let the dough rise twice and proceeded to bake it the same day. I added some freshly ground black pepper to the recipe and ground dried rosemary into a powder (using an electric coffee mill) and added it to the flour. The black pepper added a little spice to the bread and since I wanted the rosemary flavor without the sharp spears of dried rosemary, grinding the herb did the trick.
This bread makes such a beautiful presentation. I just brought it to the table and guests tore off what they wanted. It'd be a nice bread to wrap up in some parchment to give as a gift, too.

I may have to make this again next week... the gorgonzola and walnut fougasse sounds just too good not to!


14 comments:

  1. Karen, I am tickled pink that you posted this beautiful bread. I have to honestly say, I do not think I have ever seen it in Provence or eaten it. But, I do have Dorie's "Around my French Table" cookbook and I see it is in there and her picture in the book is almost as good looking as yours!!! I just baked the French apple cake out of this cookbook this morning for evening guests. Yes, I will be trying this. Susan

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  2. This looks delicious, and seems easy! I'm going to try it even though I need to know how to make this like I need a hole in the head. I'll eat it ALL!

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  3. I have seen this before but have never attempted it. I'm glad you did! Maybe I'll give it a try because it is a great presentation.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  4. That is beautiful bread that would be perfect with a good country cheese or served up with a hearty vegetable stew...Or just eaten by itself!

    Velva

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  5. Karen, this bread looks amazing! I would love to try the dried cherry and pecan one too. Yum! :)

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  6. I have been wanting to make this kind of bread for a while. It looks so delicious!

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  7. Very nice Karen. What a pretty bread. I love all the flavor combinations you've mentioned. You must make them all.

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  8. Wow this is SUCH a gorgeous loaf! And the flavors you chose are just perfect!

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  9. Something that looks this delicious should really have a better name than foo-gas.

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  10. Oooh I will truly eat anything with Kalamata olives in it. Looks yummy.

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  11. Good job, Karen! It looks and sounds delicious and the great presentation only adds to it for company!

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  12. What a beautiful bread,Karen!I would love to play with other ingredients...chorizo sounds delicious!

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  13. Karen you make the best looking bread always!! (And food, period.)

    Tummy is growling, I would love a piece of your fougasse right NOW. ;) Looks SO delish!! xo

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  14. P.S. I wonder what happened? I've been following your blog practically since day one... looks like blogspot dropped me. (They lost a bunch of my followers too, a while back... so I know it happens.) Just want you to know I rejoined. :D Happy Day!!

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