The focaccia workshop | Rise & Ritual

Lesson 1 of 4

Mix a high-hydration dough

Focaccia gives wet dough room to spread. Strong flour and patient folds create structure without endless mixing.

Ingredients for this learning path

500 g bread flour
400 g water
100 g ripe stiff starter (50% hydration)
10 g salt
30 g olive oil, plus more for pan and finishing
Rosemary and thinly sliced garlic, to taste

Equipment

Digital scale
Mixing bowl
9 × 13 inch metal baking pan
Flexible scraper

The lesson

Mix flour and 380 g water. Rest covered 30 minutes. Add starter, salt and remaining water; pinch until evenly combined.
Work in 20 g oil after the dough begins to come together. Rest 30 minutes.
Perform three or four gentle folds at 30-minute intervals. Wet hands lightly and lift from underneath rather than pulling thin strands.

The baker’s note

This stiff-starter formula has about 76% total hydration. Dough will feel loose; resist adding handfuls of flour.

Practice

Compare the dough’s stretch before and after the third fold.

Technique lessons may require a separate complete formula. Read the full path before mixing.

LESSON 1 OF 4 · 7 min read

Mix a high-hydration dough

Focaccia gives wet dough room to spread. Strong flour and patient folds create structure without endless mixing.

Go to guided practice & lesson check

Let’s work through it

Mix flour and 380 g water. Rest covered 30 minutes. Add starter, salt and remaining water; pinch until evenly combined.
Work in 20 g oil after the dough begins to come together. Rest 30 minutes.
Perform three or four gentle folds at 30-minute intervals. Wet hands lightly and lift from underneath rather than pulling thin strands.

LEARN IT. TRY IT. MAKE IT YOURS.

Your practice bench

Read the whole lesson first, then work at your own pace. Check a step when you’ve practiced or reviewed it.

0 of 3 steps

STEP 1 OF 3

Mix flour and 380 g water. Rest covered 30 minutes. Add starter, salt and remaining water; pinch until evenly combined.

I’ve practiced or reviewed this step

MAKE THE BAKER’S CALL

This focaccia dough feels loose after mixing. What is the intended response?Use rests and gentle folds to build strengthKeep adding flour until it feels like bagel doughPull it until strands tear

TAKE IT TO YOUR OWN KITCHEN

Your next small experiment

Compare the dough’s stretch before and after the third fold.

Record what happened in my journal

How do you feel about this skill?

Need another tryGetting thereReady to repeat

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Make it part of your practice

Compare the dough’s stretch before and after the third fold.

Next lesson

YOUR BAKING JOURNAL

Remember what the dough taught you.

Record your temperatures, timing, observations and one thing to try next.