Potato and Rosemary Focaccia

Ingredients

Method

1. 1

   Mix

   Whisk flour and yeast, add water and the dough oil, then the fine salt. Mix to a wet, shaggy dough with no dry flour.

   Look for: Sticky and loose, clinging to the bowl.

2. 2

   Bulk ferment with folds

   Do 3 stretch-and-folds over the first 90 minutes, then rest until bubbly and nearly doubled.

   Look for: Domed, blistered surface; the dough feels airy and slack.

   ⏱ Set 120 min · Bulk ferment with folds
3. 3

   Slice and soak the potato

   Mandoline the potato 1–2 mm thin and drop the slices into cold water for 10–15 minutes while the dough proofs in an oiled pan. Drain and dry thoroughly on a towel, then toss with oil and a pinch of fine salt.

   Look for: Slices are translucent-thin and, after drying, no longer slippery with starch; the soaking water clouds white.

   Avoid: Dry the slices well — wet potato steams and stays limp instead of crisping.

   ⏱ Set 90 min · Slice and soak the potato
4. 4

   Dimple and shingle

   Oil your fingers and dimple the dough. Lay the potato in overlapping rows like fish scales, pressing gently so the slices sit against the surface, then scatter rosemary over the top.

   Look for: An even, slightly overlapping single layer — thick piles stay raw underneath.

5. 5

   Bake

   Bake at 220°C/430°F for 25–30 minutes until the potato edges are browned and crisp and a slice pulls up tender all the way through.

   Look for: Edges of the potato curl and brown; the center of a slice is fork-tender, not chalky.

   ⏱ Set 28 min · Bake
6. 6

   Finish and cool

   Scatter flaky salt and a little more rosemary, then cool on a rack 15–20 minutes.

   Look for: Potato stays crisp on the rack; the base is firm underneath.

   ⏱ Set 20 min · Finish and cool