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Cold fermentation is also useful in helping get the absolute best texture from your bread. Although your dough may look extremely hydrated and happy as-is, you’ll have to trust me that it goes up a level when it spends time in the fridge. Left for a prolonged period of time, the gluten is fully hydrated through autolysis creating an even stronger gluten network that provides an even more dramatic and noticeably improved structure to your bread. Since you are shaping focaccia AFTER the cold proof, you get to benefit from that ultra strong gluten development and well-aerated structure aka bubble town.

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When you think about bread, the most important thing to remember is you are trying to balance gluten development with fermentation. - you’re trying to make sure you have enough structure to capture the gases produced by yeasts.

The nice thing about focaccia is that the goal is for it to be basically a liquid. That means you don’t have to worry about it being a bountiful loaf shape - you want it to lie flat and just be bubbly.  But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be well developed.

Focaccia has a low % of yeast, but a little goes a long way. Although the yeast will eventually colonize the whole of your bread dough, we combine a slow fermentation process (including cold proofing, which slows things down) to keep this in check.

Here’s a breakdown of the process/bread tactics that you can add to any recipe:

Poolish - a pre-ferment. taking a portion of your water and flour from the recipe and mixing it with a little tiny bit of yeast and leaving it for 12 hours - the result is a bubbly, aroma filled mass

Autolyse - This is a technique where you mix your flour, yeast and water together (sans salt) and leave it for 30 mins to fully absorb and hydrate, building gluten as it goes. Although some bakers will say autolyse is when you mix just flour and water together (no yeast), you’ll be including your yeast

Holding back the salt - During the autolyse, the salt is held back. Salt is a water hog so you’re allowing the flour to fully hydrate. As well as this, holding the salt back gives the yeast a chance to get going without salt hindering it

Stretch n folds - A gentle way to get involved with your dough - this part feels so good xD

Cold fermentation - An exercise in strength and flavor building

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1. Yeast is mixed into dough

2. The yeast begins to eat / process the sugars present in the carbohydrates (flour), it begins to create useful by-products for breadmaking...

3. As the dough is aerated during kneading, the yeast undergoes AEROBIC respiration because oxygen is present and it produces CO2 + water. The bread rises fast when it is undergoing this respiration but it isn’t as flavorful

4. When there is a lack of oxygen present, the yeast switches to ANAEROBIC fermentation, where CO2 + ethanol + flavor compounds are the by-products. It is bit slower but provides more flavor

5. As it respires / ferments, the gases produced by the yeasts are captured by the gluten network, creating a network of structure and airpockets within the dough

6. The higher the temperature, the more yeast activity there is and the more CO2 is produced (it rises more)

7. When the dough is stretched and folded or divided and shaped, these airpockets are redistributed or collapsed entirely (deflated). The yeast will continue to ferment and produce by-products and the bread will rise again as CO2 is captured in the gluten network. It will continue to do this until it runs out of nutrition and there’s nothing left to for the yeast to process, getting continuously more sour

8. Eventually, the yeast has produced so much ethanol that it can no longer function

How to favor flavor

So, from the list of actions by the yeast above, why not just add additional rises to your bread, knocking it back over and over again until the desired level of flavor development is reached?

Well, you could. But it’s more sensible to use some other tactics.

, pre-ferments provide a layer of flavor and jump start on strength-building.

Cold fermentation, however, and the reason why this focaccia takes 3 days, is a great lesson in both patience paying off and flavor. To understand this, we have to remember that yeast is a fungi and loves a warm environment and that temperature is really the only real thing that speeds up fermentation. Useful as it is if you’re in a rush to get the bread filled with CO2, it doesn’t favor flavor.

Cold fermentation will slow the yeast activity right down which is a good thing, because when the yeast isn’t going absolutely nuts digesting sugar and producing CO2, it is really helpful in a flavor creating process called the Alpha Amylase Reaction.

Although this does happen if you just left flour and water on its own, yeast - when under control in a cold environment - can provide some useful enzyme action to coax those flavors out, and provide new dimensions for your bread.

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if added too early, the fat coats the flour proteins making it hard to create gluten. Some focaccia recipes have the olive oil added right at the beginning but I prefer to slowly fold it in throughout the stretch and fold process. This gentle method ensures the structure of the dough isn’t affected by the large quantity of oil but you’re still getting plenty of flavor in.

An oil enriched focaccia crumb is something of beauty especially when you’re doing something with high hydration - the crumb is both tender and chewy with thinly stretched crisp walls from the large irregular pockets of airbubbles - it’s a joy to eat.

Don’t forget to use good olive oil and don’t scrimp! I rarely scale the olive oil that I use for the focaccia, choosing to do it by eye instead. , I just add olive oil when I can no longer see any! Once it's been absorbed by the dough, I just add a little more. It’s helpful for the stretching process, too, so your hands don’t get stuck

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Choose the right ingredients: While using a box cake mix, you can enhance the moisture of the cake by adding certain ingredients. For example:Substitute melted butter for oil: Instead of using the oil recommended in the box mix instructions, use an equal amount of melted butter. Butter adds richness and moisture to the cake.Use whole milk or buttermilk: Instead of water, replace it with whole milk or buttermilk. Milk adds extra moisture and enhances the flavor.Add an extra egg: Adding an additional egg to the cake mix can improve moisture and texture.

Mix thoroughly but don't overmix: Follow the instructions on the box for mixing the cake batter. Ensure that you mix the ingredients thoroughly to incorporate everything evenly. However, avoid overmixing the batter, as it can lead to a denser and drier cake.

My personal favorite is adding a can of sprite or even just seltzer water in place of water if I dont want to use buttermilk. It doesnt alter the flavor of the cake at all.

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Accurate measuring is the difference between a light, moist cake and a gummy, dense one. To properly measure, you need three types of measuring tools: a clear measuring cup with a spout for wet ingredients, cups with flat rims in graduated sizes for dry ingredients and a set of measuring spoons. Most American baking recipes measure ingredients by volume, not weight. (For example, a recipe will call for 1 cup sugar rather than 8 ounces sugar.) If you become truly passionate about baking, consider investing in a scale. Weight measurements are the most accurate and are commonly used in advanced recipes and international cookbooks.

To measure liquids: Set the spouted cup on a level counter, bend at the knees so you are at eye level with the lines on the cup and pour the ingredient right up to the line indicating the amount needed. Keep in mind: Liquid measuring cups often include volume measurements in ounces — don't confuse them with weight measurements in ounces. A recipe with weight measurements requires a scale.

To measure dry ingredients: Use the spoon-and-sweep method. Spoon the flour or other dry ingredient into a measuring cup, filling it generously above the rim of the cup. Then, run the back of a knife over the edge to sweep the excess back into the container. Don't be tempted to scoop out the flour with the measuring cup. It will become compacted, giving you more flour than called for and producing a dense, dry cake. Likewise, don't tap the filled cup on the counter, because the flour will settle. If you top it off, you'll end up with too much.

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If the recipe calls for "1 cup sifted flour," first sift the flour and then measure it. If it calls for "1 cup flour, sifted," measure the flour by the spoon-and-sweep method, then sift it. It may seem subtle, but in the cake world, it can make the difference between ethereal and leaden. A fine-mesh strainer is more than adequate for sifting. Keep in mind that even flour labeled as "presifted" on the package needs sifting. Before adding the wet ingredients, use a whisk to mix together your flour, salt and spices to make sure they are evenly distributed.

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The temperature and consistency of ingredients can also improve — or destroy — the texture of a cake. Many recipes call for softened butter. Use it, especially for creaming (see below). When butter is softened, it is pliable enough to beat but can maintain its structure so it can trap and hold air (the secret to a fluffy cake). Butter that's too cold and firm — or warm and slack — won't, resulting in a flat or dense cake. How to get the right temp? Take butter out of the fridge 45 minutes before you need it. When it's soft enough to hold a light thumbprint, you're ready to go. (Cutting it into pieces speeds things up.) You can also warm butter in a microwave on reduced power, though it's very easy to overdo and can cause uneven melting, so use it only as a last resort. Eggs should also be at room temperature. Place them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes to warm them up.

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Cake recipes often call for beating, or creaming, butter with sugar for several minutes — sometimes up to 10. Although it can be tempting to cut this step short, particularly when you're using a hand mixer, it's important to stick with it. This beating is where the texture and structure of a cake is made. Air is a vital ingredient in cakes, and it takes time to properly incorporate it into the batter. As you beat, the butter will lighten in color and you should see it increase in volume in the bowl.

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Eggs should also be beaten until light and foamy. They should lighten in color and fall in a thick ribbon when the beater is lifted out of the bowl. If the recipe calls for adding eggs one at a time, make sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next.

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When incorporating dry ingredients into a batter, it is important not to overmix (another cause of tough cakes). The best way? Fold instead of stir. Here's how: Use the broad side of a silicone spatula, and drag it like an oar moving through water to suspend the dry ingredients in the batter. Turn the bowl regularly to make sure you bring the ingredients together evenly. Use the same technique when incorporating beaten egg whites, whipped cream and other wet ingredients that are light and airy.

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Keep in mind that ovens differ and every oven has hot spots. Your best bet for even baking is to position a rack in the center of the oven and rotate the position of your pans partway through after the cake has begun to set. Opening the oven door too often can make a cake fall, so use the window in your oven door to check the cake's progress when possible. Check for doneness 10 minutes before the recipe suggests. For most recipes, a cake is ready when it starts pulling away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Cakes cool faster and don't get soggy when set out on a rack. Leave them in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes before unmolding, then place on a rack to cool completely before frosting. Angel, chiffon and sponge cakes should be left in the pan to prevent collapsing.