Lemon Poppyseed Focaccia

I’ve been recipe testing focaccia muffins for a while now and it’s not going that well. The outside is always perfect—crispy, golden brown. It almost feels fried. But, when I cut them open, the inside doesn’t have the big elastic bubbles I’m looking for. Instead the bubbles are consistently tight like a dinner roll. The recipe and development continues, but all is not lost. This made for a delicious loaf.

It even made for delicious muffins and if you want to try them out, I included the instructions in the recipe for muffins and loaves.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

555 g Water (room temperature)

750 g Bread flour

7 g Active dry yeast (or 4.8 g instant dry yeast)

10 g Salt

90 g Extra virgin olive oil (divided)

2 Lemons, zested

2 Tbsp Poppyseeds

Maldon flaky sea salt, for topping

For the glaze:

2 cups Powdered sugar

¼ cup Fresh lemon juice

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Step 1:

If using a stand mixer attached with the dough hook, add the water to the bowl first, then add the flour. Mix on low speed for 5 minutes. If mixing by hand, add the water and flour to a medium-sized mixing bowl and pinch/squeeze the mixture together with your hands until well combined and no dry flour remains (this may take closer to 10 minutes).

Step 2:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for 30 to 60 minutes. This allows the dough to fully hydrate before adding the salt, resulting in a better texture.

Step 3:

In a small bowl, rub the lemon zest and salt together with your fingers to release the lemon oils and help distribute it evenly into the dough. After the rest period, sprinkle the yeast, salt-zest mixture, and poppyseeds directly over the dough. If using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed for 10 minutes (or knead by hand) until fully incorporated with no unincorporated pockets remaining.

Step 4:

Using a bowl scraper, remove the dough from the bowl. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil into the bottom of the bowl, then return the dough to the bowl or transfer to another lightly oiled proofing vessel.

Tip: Proof the dough in a vessel that is the same shape as the pan you’ll bake it in (e.g., rectangular dish for a sheet pan, round bowl for a cast-iron skillet).

Step 5:

Fold the dough into thirds like a letter, then flip it so the seam is facing down. Cover and rest on the counter for 20 minutes. Repeat this folding and resting process three more times (for a total of four folds over 60 minutes). After the final fold, cover completely and place in the refrigerator overnight for a slow, cold proof.

Step 6:

The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and generously coat your baking pan with olive oil (pour ~53 g into one 18x13” half-sheet pan, or split ~26 g each between two 9½x13” quarter-sheet pans). Gently turn the dough into the pan without deflating it. Lightly dimple the dough toward the edges, drizzle with remaining olive oil, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes until noticeably puffy and nearly doubled in size.

Step 7:

Position an oven rack in the center. If using a convection oven, preheat to 425°F. If using a conventional oven, preheat to 500°F, then reduce the temperature to 425°F right before sliding the pan in.

Step 8:

Gently press your fingertips deep into the dough while spreading your fingers apart to create classic focaccia dimples and air bubbles. Sprinkle with Maldon flaky sea salt. Bake at 425°F for 20–25 minutes (rotating the pan halfway through) until deep golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack with a tray underneath to catch excess oil.

Step 9:

In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until completely smooth. Dip the top of the focaccia directly into the glaze, lifting to let excess drip off before setting on the cooling rack to set. If you baked one large sheet focaccia, simply drizzle the glaze over the top.

To bake as muffins:

Drizzle olive oil in each well of a jumbo muffin tin like this. Place 100-150 g focaccia dough into each well and drizzle with olive oil. Follow the instructions, but bake for only 8-15 minutes.