UYL Sourdough Fougasse

A wonderful tasty tear-able bread . . . Eat on its own or with a variety of dishes.

Ingredients

• 500g Strong White Flour
• 340ml warm water
• 3 tblsp Olive oil
• 1 tsp Dried mixed herbs

1. When you are ready to make your sourdough fougasse, take the starter out of the fridge the day before you need it.
2. Pour out a cupful of the Sourdough starter (150g) into a food processor or mixer bowl. Add 1 cupful of strong white flour and 1 cupful of warm water to produce a batter. Mix briefly (to ensure no lumps).
3. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place (e.g. airing cupboard) for an hour or so. Bubbles should appear on the surface of the batter.
4. Pour off 1 cupful of the batter and add (return) this to your sourdough starter (in the kilner jar).
5. Add the flour and olive oil to the batter in the food processor (or mixer) with dough hook and gradually add the warm water until you acheive a dough that holds together and does not stick to the side. Run the food processor/mixer for several minutes to mechanically knead the dough. (If mixing by hand, do this on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes.)
6. Split the dough into 2 parts and for each . . .
7. Optionally sprinkle 1 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs and fold the dough, or just sprinkle on the top when you . . .
8. Shape the dough on a baking tray and with a sharp knife cut slits in the flattened dough and gently pull to enlarge.
9.  Cover with a clean, damp tea towel (this stops the dough drying out) and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (1 – 2 hours).
10.  Uncover and bake in an oven, preheated to 230 degrees C (gas mark 8) for 15 – 20 minutes.