Soggy Bottoms: Forbidden Herb Fougasse

Soggy Bottoms is here!

This week’s bake snuck up on me, and by that I mean I wasn’t aware I needed to bake anything until about two days ago. Since my last bake was sweet (and very deliciously rich), it was time for something savory!

I ended up choosing the herb fougasse. I remember this episode of the Great British Bake Off quite well because no one could figure out where to make the odd little slits on the bread. It was also botanical week and all the contestants were like WTF does that mean.

Because this was a bread recipe, I was rather worried about proofing because my last bread bake definitely had some issues in that regard. However, I can safely say I had an easier time, and I credit all of that to the fact that I’m in a new apartment with better appliances.

Why did I choose the fougasse as opposed to another savory bread bake? Because it looked rustic as fuck. I’ve been sinking hours upon hours of my free time in the video game Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, which is set in ancient Greece. Now a fougasse is a French bake according to Wikipedia, but I could totally see this herby, leaf-shaped bread being made in Athens.

Would that be historically accurate? No clue!

Bake: Fresh herb fougasse

Episode: Series 7, Episode 6

Whose challenge: Paul Hollywood

Time limit: Two hours

Resources: Praise to the BBC for Paul Hollywood’s recipe!

Process: This recipe makes two loaves (leaves?) of fougasse, which is quite a lot of a bread. However, despite the fancy shape, it was a pretty easy bake. I think part of the difficulty with the technical challenge during the show was getting the design right. And, since I’ve seen the episode, I guess that makes me a dirty cheater. But I’m a dirty cheater with two warm, fresh, herby breads.

For whatever reason, my grocery store didn’t have fresh sage and I didn’t want to get any ground sage from the spices section. I was worried it’d be too strong and give my dough a greenish tint, which doesn’t sound particularly appetizing. Instead, I made up the difference with an extra teaspoon each of rosemary and thyme.

Once more, I gave this proofing technique a try. Since total proofing time according to the recipe was an hour and twenty minutes, leaving me forty minutes to prepare and bake, I couldn’t leave the loaves to naturally proof. Or at least I didn’t feel comfortable with that time crunch. I’ve heard proofing overnight in the fridge is one of the best way to get a good rise. I could be wrong though because I know zilch about bread making aside from what I’ve made for Soggy Bottoms.

Let me say this: shaping these babies is very important and you’ll see why later. You want the two loaves to be rather even in thickness.

The bake time is only about 15-20 minutes and even when we crept toward the latter end of the bake time, the fougasse wasn’t as golden brown as I wanted it to be. But the loaves sounded hollow (like the directions suggest) and the undersides were very baked. With the bake time at 220 Celsius, that translates to 425 Fahrenheit. However, I found this Americanized recipe and they suggested doing it at 390 Fahrenheit. I wonder if I would have had better browning results doing it at that temperature rather than the higher one.

Regardless, look at this beautiful fougasse!

I know what you’re thinking. Wait, Amanda, aren’t there supposed to be two? Yes, you’d be correct. But I’d rather not focus on its burned, misshapen cousin because the dough was too thin in spots and set off my apartment’s fire alarms and spooked my cat.

Reading material: Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins,

Forbidden is the first book in the Old West series, which I felt was a well-matched setting for the look of this bake given its rustic appearance. Getting the shape of the fougasse just right takes a bit of finessing the dough and if anyone can finesse a plot into a beautiful, tasty shape, it’s Beverly Jenkins.

There’s also something so incredibly warm and homey about Jenkins writing, and I know many turn to her books in a time of comfort. You could probably take any of Jenkins’ historicals to pair with this bake and be just fine. These breads are also wonderful for sharing and that’s how we at SBTB HQ feel about Jenkins’ books. Read one and you’re going to want to put it in the hands of your friends, family, and anyone else who will listen.

You can see the rest of my Soggy Bottoms’ bakes here or see the full list in the Soggy Bottom introductory post.

Have you had a fougasse before? Which bake do you think would be great next, especially for the wintry holiday season?