Fougasse is a classic French bread from the south area of Provence. It’s classically a flatbread which is usually flavored and studded with add-ins. Try this Fougasse bread with step by step and video below, you’ll find it a forgiving bread recipe that you can enjoy in so many ways.

Bread Baking is like pure therapy when you’re looking for comfort, especially when you’re making a forgiving recipe like this Fougasse. This is a bread recipe you need to try and feel free to play around with the add-ins and flavors. 

If you’re looking for other baking recipes that are quicker to make, try these absolute fluffy Biscuits With Cheddar Rosemary & Cranberries. This Cornbread Recipe is a MUST try, Ultimate Garlic Bread is a CROWD favorite and Cheesy Pull Apart Bread too!

Since we’re coming close to the Holiday season, don’t miss these Homemade Dinner Rolls. Soft, melt in your mouth and stays fresh for days! Another easy bread recipe you can’t miss. Best Soft Burger Buns are the way to go for buns!

What is Fougasse

Fougasse, pronounced as “foo-gaas” is a flabread from the South of France area of Provence. While originally, it may have originated in Rome and developed into the well known Focaccia now in Italy. But as it traveled along Europe, it reached France and became the Fougasse.

Fogasse bread is usually served as an accompaniment to meals, an appetizer bread with cheese, fruits and honey, and a dipping bread. 

Classically, the shape of Fougasse is similar to a leaf or a sheath of wheat with open slits along the bread. To encourage those slits, you’ll be manually opening them up as you cut through the dough. This helps the bread bake faster and creates a wonderful crust. 

Fougasse is usally made using olive oil and herbs, probably with olives. Today’s recipe is flavored with my favorite Holiday inspired add ins such as cranberries, rosemary, sun dried tomatoes and walnuts.

Ingredients to Make Fougasse Bread

For maximum flavor of the bread, I encourage you to make it as is below–a two step process. Initially there’s a starter which you mix in the night before, and the next day you’ll add the remaining dough ingredients to it and proceed.  

Starter Ingredients:

Dough Ingredients and Add-ins:

• Flour, water and yeast to make the dough.
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Fresh rosemary
• cranberries
• sundried tomatoes
• olives
• walnuts

How to Make Fougasse Bread

1. Make the starter by simply adding the water, flour and yeast to a bowl and use a spoon or your kitchen machine to blend the starter together. It will not look like a firm dough, rather a messy one. Keep it in same bowl and cover it overnight.
   
2. The next morning, your starter should look like this. Tripled in size and poofed up, not really a dough, still soft and liquid-like. 
   
3. At that point, you’re ready to proceed with making the dough. Add the water, flour, yeast, salt, olive oil and the add-ins. The dough at this point will look like a dough, firmly shaped like a ball, yet sticky still when you touch it with your hands.
   
4. After two hours, the dough should be covered and it will triple in size again, which at that point is ready to be shaped.

How to Shape a Fougasse

The shape of Fougasse bread is one of its unique characteristics. Here’s an easy tutorial on shaping the bread:

1. Start by dividing the dough into two equal halves. Work with one half at a time and leave the remaining half in the same bowl, covered until ready to use.
   
2. Flatten with your hands or roll using a rolling pin the dough into an oval shape. You want the oval to be about 12 inch by 6 inch in size, with a thickness of 1/4th of an inch. 
   
3. Take a knife or razor, and make a slit along the length of the oval in the middle. Make sure to leave an inch border from each side as you cut. You don’t want to split the dough, rather make a slit along the middle only.
   
4. Use the same sharp knife to make diagonal slits along each side of the line, while also making sure to leave the 1 inch border on each side. The will have your dough resemble the classic leaf or ear of wheat.
   
5. Very important note here is to use your fingers to open up those slits, specially the ones on the side of the line as those will seal back once the dough begins to rise. So just use your fingers to open up the slits gently.
   
6. Repeat with the remaining half og the dough and you’ll have two Fougasse breads ready. Cover them and allow them to rise while the oven is preheating. This rise should be approximately 45 minutes.
   
7. The fougasse will rise again and poof before baking to look like this. 
   
8. Bake in a 450 degree oven until the bread is cooked through and slightly golden in color.

Serve Fougasse Bread

• Typically this bread is served on appetizer boards.
• It’s also perfect for dipping in sauces or olive oil.
• Because of it’s different toppings, it could be a snack on its own.
• Great to pair with cheeses and cured meats.
• Perfect bread to have with a hearty salad.
• Great with Pasta dishes.

Fougasse Bread Tips 

1. Plan ahead too make this recipe as the starter needs to be made one day in advance. 
2. While you can make the dough skipping the starter, it’s highly recommended to make it as it adds impeccable flavor to the bread. 
3. You don’t need a machine or to knead the starter ingredients, rather you just to have them mixed up together. It doesn’t have the consistency of a dough, it’s far more liquidy.
4. The next day, proceed with the dough when you’re ready to spare the time for rising and shaping the bread.
5. The final dough will have a definite ball shape and will require kneading. For the record I have an Ankarsrum Kitchen machine and I LOVE everything about it. It has replaced all my other kitchen machines in a snap!
6. The dough as well defined and kneaded as it is, it will still feel slightly sticky when touched by hand.
7. Make sure to follow the shaping instructions above and ALWAYS leave an inch border when making any slits along the dough.
8. ALWAYS remember that as the dough rises, the slits you make can close and disappear. So in order to maintain the shape of the bread, use your fingers to open up the slits after making them.
9. You can bake the bread with steam for a crisper crust.
10. Store leftover Fougasse in the freezer for up 3 months, thaw and reheat in a 35o degree oven for 10 minutes. Or in the fridge and reheat the same way.

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