Focaccia · focaccia

Two-Pan Tomato Focaccia - 7 September Comparison Bake

Status
Confirmed bake
Dates
2026-09-06 to 2026-09-07
Format
Two 6.25 x 6.25 x 2-inch square pans, about 565 g each
Leavening
sourdough
Two square tomato focaccias cooling on a wire rack. Both have risen into rounded, uneven domes well above the height of the pan, with roasted tomato pieces and oregano across golden tops.
One loaf turned upside down on the rack, showing a deep, even golden-brown base with the dimple marks still visible. The second, tomato-topped loaf sits behind it.Two cut halves side by side. The crumb is aerated throughout, finer and tighter toward the base and more open near the top, with a few larger pockets under the crust. Both tops are domed.A close, backlit view of one cut face. Small even cells fill most of the crumb, with several larger irregular pockets through the upper middle.
Steven's photographs of the 7 September comparison bake: two pans at about 565 g each. Not the proposed 475 g F17.
True hydration
77.8%
Salt
1.8%
Inoculation
22.2%
Total flour
608 g
Total dough
1131 g

Formula

Formula for Two-Pan Tomato Focaccia - 7 September Comparison Bake. Baker's percentages are calculated on total flour, including the flour contributed by the levain.
IngredientGrams Baker’s %Notes
Bread flour54088.9%Plus 67.5 g flour in starter
100% hydration starter13522.2%Leonardough
Water40566.7%77.8% true total hydration
Salt10.81.8%
Olive oil in dough406.7%
Drained fire-roasted tomatoesnot recoverednot recoveredNot weighed
Calabrian oregano, cracked pepper, kosher saltnot recoverednot recoveredTo taste
Total dough1131

Hydration

Added water66.7%water weighed into the dough
True total77.8%including the levain’s flour and water

F11's ratios at three times the batch. 405 g water / 607.5 g total flour.

Scale

  • Bread flour540g
  • 100% hydration starter135g
  • Water405g
  • Salt10.8g
  • Olive oil in dough40g

Total dough 1131 g

Percentages are fixed; only grams change. Rounded to 1 g, or 0.1 g under 20 g.

Process

Mixed about 5:30 PM Sunday with three folds; dough around 75 F that evening. Bulk was slow but kept going - fine bubbles, then larger ones. Refrigerated 12:50 AM before the bulk rise was confidently established, out at 9:59 AM after 9 h 9 min at 46 F. Rise was near the double mark by 10:13 and ready to pan by 11:31. Roughly divided straight from the container into two pans around 11:40; the dough was still wet and sticky and the thickness stayed uneven. Covered pan proof at 75-78 F, bubbly and jiggling by 12:37 PM.

Bake

Into a 450 F oven at 1:00 PM exactly, down to 435 F at 1:10. Centre read 205 F and it was on the rack by 1:39 - roughly 30-39 minutes total, the exact exit was not recorded.

Outcome

Flavour, chew and crunch were all excellent, and the bottom came out evenly golden with no scorching. The problem is shape: both loaves went too tall with irregular pointed domes well above the rim. The crumb is aerated throughout but tighter in the bottom third with larger pockets above, rather than even openness. Steven wants it a little more open and a good deal less tall.

Next action

Cut the loading and leave the formula alone - F17 takes it to 475 g in a single pan. High load and uneven distribution are the likely causes of the doming; underproofing is possible but was not established, and doming on its own does not prove it. There was pooled oil in the bulk container, so use less for release - that was not shown to have slowed fermentation. Give the starter its two days before the next one.

Where this sits

2860920.63.8 True hydration % Salt % F01 Original Barese / Puglian Yeast Benchmark — 60.5% hydration, 3.8% saltF03 Classic Cold-Fermented Sourdough Focaccia — 77.3% hydration, 1.8% saltF05 Focaccia Barese - Sourdough Canon Version 2 — 53.1% hydration, 3.3% saltF06 Potato-Free Fast-Track Focaccia Version 2.0 — 74.5% hydration, 2.0% saltF08 Potato-Free Barese Version 1A - Open-Crumb Adjustment — 91.8% hydration, 3.8% saltF09 Four 6-inch Square Potato-Free Scaling — 88.0% hydration, 3.7% saltF10 Potato Small-Square Focaccia Batch — 68.9% hydration, 2.2% saltF11 6.25-inch Square Sandwich Focaccia — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% saltF12 Chicago-Style Hot-Dog Focaccia — 78.3% hydration, 1.9% saltF15 Shredded-Potato Focaccia Pugliese — 60.0% hydration, 2.4% saltF16 Sourdough Focaccia - Two 6x6x2 Pans — 82.1% hydration, 2.1% saltF17 One-Pan Tomato Focaccia - 475 g Experiment — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% saltB01 Standard Sourdough Baseline — 75.0% hydration, 2.0% saltB02 100% Whole-Wheat Integrale Sourdough — 81.8% hydration, 1.8% saltB03 Pane di Altamura - 100% Italian Durum Semola Sourdough — 84.0% hydration, 2.0% saltB04 Rye-Spelt-Honey Base / Five-Grain Seeded Loaf Lineage — 78.0% hydration, 2.0% saltB05 Croissant-Style Laminated Sourdough Loaf — 42.9% hydration, 1.1% saltB07 One Hearty Pan Sourdough - First Loaf-Pan Trial — 77.9% hydration, 1.8% saltB08 One Hearty Pan Sourdough - Revised Multigrain Formula — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% saltB09 Same-Day Enriched Sourdough Loaf — 69.6% hydration, 1.7% saltB12 Everyday Sourdough - 9.8" Banneton — 77.3% hydration, 1.8% saltB13 Control Loaf (Documented Baseline) — 71.7% hydration, 1.9% saltB14 Same-Day Sourdough — 72.2% hydration, 2.0% saltB16 Dark Chocolate Espresso Sourdough with Pistachio — 77.3% hydration, 2.0% saltB17 Persian-Inspired Sourdough — 74.5% hydration, 2.0% saltB18 Cinnamon, Blueberry & Cherry Swirl Loaf — 70.2% hydration, 1.9% saltA01 Orange-Pistachio-Espresso Dark Cocoa Sourdough Biscotti — 27.9% hydration, 0.6% saltF18 Two-Pan Tomato Focaccia - 7 September Comparison Bake — 77.8% hydration, 1.8% salt
Every formula in this archive with a recoverable hydration and salt figure. Dot size is inoculation; outline is status. This bake is filled.

Tags

  • potato-free
  • square pan
  • sandwich
  • tomato
  • two pans