Caputo 00 Focaccia with Poolish (Light & Airy Showpiece)
Overnight poolish · ~83% hydration · huge open crumb · one 9×13 pan
✦ Jump to recipeIf the bread flour focaccia is the workhorse, this is the showpiece. Built with fine-milled Caputo 00 and an overnight poolish, it produces the most aromatic, open, and delicate crumb of any focaccia we make — huge, glassy holes under a lacy, crackly crust, with a tender, melting interior. It's the one to serve barely warm, plain or with great olive oil, so the crumb can speak for itself.
Caputo 00 is milled finer than bread flour and behaves differently: it's extensible rather than elastic, so the dough wants to flow and stretch rather than spring back. We hold the hydration slightly lower (~83%) to keep that slacker dough manageable. It's the most delicate dough in our rotation — and the most rewarding.
Why this recipe works
- Caputo 00 flour: fine milling and extensible gluten give a tender, dramatically open crumb.
- Overnight poolish: maximum aroma and bubble structure — the showpiece factor.
- ~83% hydration: high enough for big holes, controlled enough to handle the slacker 00.
- Long cold ferment (34–36 hours): builds the complex, faintly winey flavor.
Caputo 00 Focaccia with Poolish
Mix the poolish the night before (12–16 hours). Mix the dough, fold gently 3 times, cold ferment 34–36 hours. Pan, proof 3–4 hours, dimple, bake. Total ~50 hours start to finish.
Ingredients
Poolish — mix the night before
- 150 g Caputo 00 flour
- 150 g room-temperature water
- 0.4 g instant yeast (a small pinch)
Final dough
- All of the poolish (~300 g)
- 362 g Caputo 00 flour
- 275 g room-temperature water
- 10 g fine sea salt
- 2.5 g instant yeast
- 14 g honey
- ~4 tbsp olive oil (for pan and finishing)
- Flaky salt to finish
Instructions
- 1
Make the poolish
The night before, whisk the poolish flour, water, and pinch of yeast smooth. Cover and ferment 12–16 hours at room temperature, until domed and bubbly with a faintly winey aroma.
- 2
Mix the dough
Whisk the yeast, honey, and the 275 g water into the poolish. Add the flour and salt, and mix to a smooth, slack, sticky dough. Cover.
- 3
Fold gently
Over the first 1.5 hours, do 3 gentle sets of stretch-and-folds about 30 minutes apart. The dough is very extensible — short, light folds are enough. Resist adding flour to tame the stickiness; let the folds and the fridge build structure instead.
- 4
Cold ferment
Cover tightly and refrigerate 34–36 hours. Expect the most active rise of any focaccia dough.
- 5
Pan and proof
Oil a 9×13 pan well, scrape the dough in, fold it loosely, and coat. Cover and bring to room temperature until billowy and trembling, about 3–4 hours.
- 6
Bake
Preheat to 475°F. Drizzle with oil, dimple, and scatter flaky salt. Bake 22–26 minutes, checking early — fine-milled 00 browns faster, so pull at the first deep gold. Cool on a rack.
Tips
- This dough nearly pours — keep your hands and the bench wet and move with purpose.
- The structure is fragile; transfer especially gently and bake promptly once fully proofed.
- Because 00 browns quickly, watch the color closely in the last few minutes.
- Serve barely warm and unadorned — this crumb deserves the spotlight.
FAQ
- How is this different from a bread flour focaccia?
- Caputo 00 gives a more tender, delicate, airy crumb, while bread flour gives a chewier, more rugged pull-apart. The 00 version is lighter and more aromatic; the bread flour version has more structure.
- Why is the hydration lower than the bread flour version?
- Fine-milled 00 feels slacker at the same hydration, so we hold it around 83% to keep it manageable. Once you know the flour, you can push toward 85%.