Friday, May 11, 2012

French Fridays with Dorie - Provençal Olive Fougasse




Fougasse is an uniquely shaped French yeast bread that is popular in the south of France, in particular, in the southeast of France, namely Provence.




Who does not like to think of Provence while cooking, the mere thought of this beautiful region of France evokes images not only of endless lavender fields but also of olive trees and lemon trees and tomatoes ripening in the sunshine. And then the wonderful smell of the Provençal herbs - herbes de provence (rosemary, thyme, basil...) comes to mind.




Unfortunately, I do not live next door to an olive grove or a citrus plantation,  neither do I have the pleasure of having a lavender field in my backyard, but I did find some young olive trees and a lemon tree at one of my favorite nurseries - so when I dream of Provence whilst shaping the bread, I can still look at these photos.


Oftentimes, the fougasse is shaped like one big leaf, a wheat ear or other fanciful shape. The dough for this raised flatbread is prepared with quite a bit of good olive oil and one or more of the following ingredients, namely, pitted oil-cured green or black olives, lard fumé (smoked bacon bits), sundried tomatoes, garlic, an assortment of various herbs that are common in Provence such as rosemary and thyme and, of course, a sprinkling of good fleur de sel (sea salt).  It can also be prepared plain with just a sprinkling of that wonderful French salt.



The fougasse is usually served whole to show off its fanciful shape and so everyone at the table can tear off a piece or two or more and enjoy the bread either on its own or with some chèvre (goat cheese), tapenade (olive paste), salamis or simply a bit of fruity extra virgin olive oil.




According to Dorie's recipe you add black olives, rosemary and lemon/orange zest to the dough. Considering the sheer uncontrollable growth of herbs in my garden, I decided to do two versions of Dorie's recipe. The first recipe exactly as written, namely, with olives, rosemary and lemon zest and shaped like a leaf.





The second version with Dorie's same basic dough plus the addition of thyme instead of rosemary and chopped oil cured sundried tomatoes instead of black olives. And this time shaped a bit differently.





Everyone around the table loved the fougasse, some liked it a bit better with the black olives, the others preferred it with the sundried tomatoes...chacun à son goût - we all have our preferences.




In conclusion, Dorie's recipe is a wonderful recipe if you like to eat fougasse and I have not met a person yet who does not like to have a bit of  French bread with their lunch or dinner. It is easy to prepare in advance (which I happen to like quite a lot), and lends itself to some individual "interpretations", like different shapes and different additions to the basic dough, depending on what you have on hand and depending on what you and your family like. I should not forget to mention that the fougasse travels well and is great for bringing along to a party as a hostess gift or even to a picnic.

Bon appétit et bon week-end!

To see how the other Doristas prepared the Provencal Olive Fougasse, please click here!

34 comments:

  1. Oh, I would´ve liked both! Sun dried tomatoes fit this bread perfectly. I wish I could get fleur de sel here. Great pictures, as usual!

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    1. Thank you, Paula - I happen to be a big fan of sun dried tomatoes and they are very good in this Fougasse, especially together with some chopped fresh thyme.

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  2. I found a Dorie recipe in Bon Appetite where she used sun dried tomatoes and black olives. I think you can add any delicious thing to this dough and produce a delicious bread! That is one gorgeous basket of rosemary!

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    1. You are quite right about Dorie´s recipe for Fougasse with sun dried tomatoes being featured in the November 2009 issue of Bon Appétit magazine. I had never tried a recipe for Fougasse before but when I baked the Provencal Olive Fougasse, there was this glass filled with delicious oil-packed sun dried tomatoes sitting there on one of my shelves - I could not resist the urge to use them!

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  3. The sundried tomatoes sounds like a nice variation.
    Beautiful pictures & bread - as always.

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    1. We liked both variation - it was nice to get a chance to use some of my thyme too - thmye and tomatoes are a great combination.

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  4. Very pretty! I just found a jar of sun dried tomatoes in my cupboard. I may have to try this again.

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    1. If you find the time to bake the Fougasse again, sun dried tomatoes would be nice - I am sure you and your family will enjoy that variation on Dorie´s basic recipe.

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  5. Absolutely beautiful. Love the shape of your loaf, too! :)

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    1. It is fun and easy to play around with this dough a bit - makes for a bit of a different presentation.

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  6. I love that you used sun-dried tomatoes…I'm sure they added great flavor! I would eat either gladly! My husband would prefer the sun-dried tomatoes! Your loaves are simply gorgeous! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you for your kind comments - my husband was kind of partial to the sun dried tomatoes version too.

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  7. That is a wonderful idea with the sun dried tomatoes. I have a very "large" jar in fridge I would like to use up. I think I will
    try this recipe again soon and experiment. Everything looks delicious and soooo appetizing. Love the photos.

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    1. It was fun and easy to vary Dorie´s recipe somewhat, not much - just using ingredients that I often put into in my Italian breadsticks.

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  8. I bet it was awesome with the sun-dried tomatoes! I wish I'd thought to do that! YUM!

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    1. We all liked the Fougasse with the olives as well as with the sun dried tomatoes. It was nice to be able to sample both.

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  9. Andrea, Aren't you the clever gal to bake two different versions to give your family and friends choices. I bet everyone tried both. Your Post opening really made me think of Provence and why I love being there so much. I liked the idea of sundried tomatoes as well as making fougasse in different shapes - fantasy bread, if you will. I am glad you and yours enjoyed this as much as my friends and I did. I like your writing - it's fun to read.

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    1. I am glad I could conjure up a bit of a Provence feeling - I wish I could be there right now...

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  10. I love the shape of both of your breads, Andrea! I have a jar of sun dried tomatoes and will have to make this version soon. This is such a fun bread to make and i will enjoy trying different variations.

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    1. So glad you enjoyed making the Fougasse as much as I did - it is a great recipe and it is indeed a lot of fun playing around with it.

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  11. Love the fact that this is such a versatile yeast bread...you can even use sun dried tomatoes and olive and shaped the anyhow you like :) Your photos are awesome so are your fougasse :)

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    1. Thank you, Elin - this was a great Friday, finally could bake that wonderful French bread!

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  12. I love all your ideas for variations, Andrea! Sun-dried tomatoes will be at the top of the list, along with other herbes de Provence. Your pictures should be in magazines... Haben ein gutes Wochenende! (Hope I got that right. I don't actually speak German, but used Google translator...)

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    1. Vielen Dank!!! That German is not bad...and thank you so much for your wonderful compliments - I really appreciate them.

      Noch eine schöne Woche!

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  13. Beautiful shapes! I love the sound of your variation ideas, too. I agree with Betsy - your photos really are magazine-worthy.

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    1. Teresa, thank you - I am so happy that the photos turned out good - it is nice to think about the pictures while preparing the food.

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  14. Woo hoo! Looks great!! I would love to have my own lemon tree!

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    1. Lemon trees are just amazing, Alice. Whenever I see one, I am just amazed...and I do love lemons with just about anything be it sweet or savory.

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  15. Andrea, gorgeous photos of a stunning bread! I think I love your shape best of all I've seen! Beautifully done~

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    1. Lizzy, thank you! It is always a lot of fun working with bread dough and this one was easy to play around with - I was trying to remember the differently shaped fougasses that I have seen in French bakeries.

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  16. Beautiful bread! The pictures are just great, I love the sun-dried tomato idea! I also loved this recipe and can't wait to try some different ingredients!

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    1. Sun-dried tomatoes are just wonderful in any kind of baked goods. I just love the slightly sweet taste that they bring to some recipes.

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  17. I love the different shapes and flavor combinations, how creative! Is that your rosemary plant that's flowering? It's very pretty.

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    1. Thank you - yes, it is my flowering rosemary plant - sometimes I even add the flowers to a salad.

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