Skip to content
FriendsPantry

French

Fougasse

Vegetarian

A flat Provençal olive-oil bread slashed into the shape of a leaf so every bite is mostly crust, often studded with olives and rosemary.

Fougasse is a French bread from France, ready in about 3 hours 13 minutes and made with bread flour and olive oil. It serves 8 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking

No licensed photograph of this dish yet.

Prep
25 min
Cook
18 min
Rest
2 h 30 min
Total
3 h 13 min
Serves
8
Level
Intermediate
Calories
277

Ingredients

8 servings (2 fougasses)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the flour, water, yeast, salt and 30 g olive oil (opens in a new tab) into a soft dough. Rest 15 minutes, then knead 6–8 minutes until smooth. Mix in the olives (opens in a new tab) and rosemary (opens in a new tab), if using.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Bulk ferment in an oiled bowl for about 1½ hours, with 2 sets of folds in the first hour, until doubled and bubbly.

    • 3 min

  3. Step 3

    Divide in two, shape loosely into ovals and rest 15 minutes. On parchment, press each into a flat triangle about 1.5 cm thick.

    • 5 min

  4. Step 4

    With a floured bench scraper (opens in a new tab), cut a long slash down the middle and 3–4 angled slashes either side, cutting right through. Pull the dough gently so the cuts open wide like a leaf skeleton. Proof 30 minutes while the oven (opens in a new tab) heats to 240 °C (fan 220 °C) with a tray and a roasting tin.

    A tray of food roasting in the oven
    How it looks · Photo: locrifa on Pexels

  5. Step 5

    Brush with oil, slide onto the hot tray, add boiling water to the roasting tin and bake 15–18 minutes until golden and crisp. Brush with a little more oil as it comes out.

    Food safety: Pour water for steam carefully and stand back — the burst of steam can scald hands and face. Don't pour water onto a glass oven door.

  6. Step 6

    Cool briefly on a rack and tear to share.

About this dish

Origin
Provence, France · Well documentedRelated to Italian focaccia; both descend from flatbreads baked on the hearth.More food from France
Dish
Lunch · Snack · Dinner · Breads & flatbreads · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Fermented
Taste
savoury, herby, salty
Diet
Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Portable / lunchbox
Cook more with
Bread flour · Instant yeast
Techniques
Roasting · Baking · Boiling · Kneading · Fermentation

Allergens

  • Contains: Wheatfrom bread flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom bread flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

277 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 106 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 11%
  • Carbohydrate 67%
  • Fat 22%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy277 kcal260 kcal
Protein7.6 g7.2 g
Carbohydrate45.5 g42.8 g
Net carbohydrate43.9 g41.3 g
Sugars0.2 g0.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1.6 g1.5 g
Fat6.7 g6.3 g
Saturated fat0.9 g0.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium487 mg458 mg
Salt equivalent1.2 g1.1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
66 mg
Calcium
14 mg
Iron
2.8 mg
Magnesium
17 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
189 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: black olives, rosemary (fresh).
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Open the cuts wider than looks right — they close up as the dough proofs and springs.

Common mistakes

  • Making it too thick, so it bakes like a loaf rather than a crisp, chewy flatbread.

Serve with

  • With tapenade, cheese and a glass of something cold, or alongside a Provençal stew.

Storage

  • Best on the day; keeps 1 day wrapped.

Reheating

  • Warm in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Variations

  • Fougasse aux lardons: Knead in 100 g fried bacon lardons instead of olives.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in step 1

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 25 min

    Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).

  2. First rise (bulk) · about 1 h 45 min

    About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.

  3. Rest · about 15 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  4. Final proof · about 30 min

    Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.

  5. Bake · about 18 min at 240 °C

    Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).

  6. Start to finish: about 3 h 13 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
Bread flourFlour500 g100%
WaterWater350 g70%
Olive oilFat45 g9%
SaltSalt10 g2%
Instant yeastYeast3 g0.6%
Total flour
500 g
Hydration
70%
With milk, eggs…
70%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Soft, slightly sticky dough (65–75%) — open crumb; most rustic loaves.
  • Salt 2% — normal for bread.

If something goes wrong

  • Dense, heavy loaf

    Likely causes

    • Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
    • Under-proofed
    • Old or dead yeast/starter
    • Too much wholegrain flour without extra water

    What to do

    • Knead to the windowpane stage
    • Proof by the poke test, not the clock
    • Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
    • Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Dough didn't rise

    Likely causes

    • Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
    • Kitchen too cold
    • Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
    • Starter not active

    What to do

    • Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
    • Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
    • Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
    • Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
  • Tough or chewy flatbread

    Likely causes

    • Dough too stiff
    • Not rested
    • Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan

    What to do

    • Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
    • Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
    • Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like