Gorgonzola and Walnut Fougasse Recipe

Posted by
Rate It!
Gorgonzola and Walnut Fougasse
Add your photo!
Count
Calories

Ingredients:

  • 1 recipe basic dough with pate fermentee, recipe follows
  • cornmeal, for dusting, as needed
  • 1 1/2 cups whole or broken walnut halves (about 5 oz)
  • 7 oz dry mountain-style gorgonzola cheese (not dulce), crumbled
  • olive oil , as needed
  • special equipment: baking stone, bench scraper, and parchment paper

Directions:

  1. Place a baking stone in the middle of the oven and preheat to 470 degrees F.
  2. On a lightly floured work surface, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces with a bench scraper.
  3. Using your fingertips, flatten the dough pieces. Transfer 1 of the pieces to the back of a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly dusted with cornmeal. Cover generously with walnuts and Gorgonzola and top with another piece of dough. Press down on the edges to seal. Using a small palette knife, cut 8 evenly spaced holes in the dough. Stretch the dough to enlarge the holes. Lightly brush the fougasse with olive oil and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Place the loaf in a warm place and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat to make 1 more loaf.
  4. Working with 1 loaf a time, slide the fougasse, still on the parchment paper, onto the baking stone. Bake until crispy and brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the fougasse to a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining loaf.
  5. Basic Dough with Pate Fermentee:
  6. Pate Fermentee just means old dough . Old dough? , you say. Well, this old dough is basically a starter that is made the day before, and cuts down on the time you eventually spend in the kitchen. Nothing wrong with that. It also makes the bread last longer, gives it a slightly acidic and subtly complex flavor, and helps the inside of the bread form tiny irregular holes that are a sign of great artisanal bread (called crumb in baker-speak).
  7. If you can, try weighing out the ingredients, instead of using measuring cups and spoons—it's much more accurate.
  8. Use this dough to make Scali, an Italian sesame seed-crusted bread, or Gorgonzola and Walnut Fougasse—or both.
  9. 1 recipe refrigerated Pate Fermentee (1 3/4 pounds), recipe follows
  10. 1 1/2 cups minus 1 tablespoon 80 degree F. water (.71 pound)
  11. 3 1/2 cups unbleached, unbromated all-purpose flour (1 pound)
  12. 1 teaspoon minus 1/16 teaspoon instant dry yeast (2.8 grams)
  13. 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt (9 grams)
  14. Special equipment: An instant-read thermometer and an electronic or balance scale
  15. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pate fermentee and water and, using your hands, break up the dough into the water.
  16. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pate fermentee mixture and mix by hand until firm and cohesive, about 3 minutes. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
  17. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough until very elastic and smooth, about 10 to 15 minutes. Take the dough's temperature. It should be at 78 degrees F.
  18. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap (the plastic should not touch the dough). Place the bowl in a warm place (about 75 to 78 degrees F.) and let rise for a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes. After the first 45 minutes, fold the dough and turn it over in the bowl. (It will somewhat deflate the dough, but it is gentler than what's commonly referred to as punching down. )
  19. Let the dough rise, undisturbed, for 1 hour more. (The dough will rise considerably at this point.)
  20. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough gently into a rectangle, to degas it.
  21. Pate Fermentee:
  22. 3 1/2 cups unbleached, unbromated all-purpose flour (1 pound)
  23. 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt (9 grams)
  24. 1 teaspoon minus 1/16 teaspoon instant dry yeast (2.8 grams)
  25. 1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon 63 degree F. water (.67 pound)
  26. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and, using your hands, mix until incorporated, about 3 minutes. (Alternatively, mix in a mixer on the lowest setting possible.) Cover bowl with plastic wrap and put in a warm place (about 75 degrees F.). Let the dough ferment for 1 hour. Take the dough's temperature. It should be at 75 degrees F.
  27. Refrigerate the dough at least 10 hours and up to 36 hours. When ready, it will be roughly doubled in size and have a fine network of filaments and holes. Make this recipe the night before you mix the dough.
Kitchen-Friendly View

Nutrition Facts

Per ServingPer 100 g
Amount Per 1 Serving
Calories 466.41 Kcal (1953 kJ)
Calories from fat 381.48 Kcal
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 42.39g 65%
Sodium 47.3mg 2%
Potassium 377.71mg 8%
Total Carbs 12.12g 4%
Sugars 0.71g 3%
Dietary Fiber 5.15g 21%
Protein 17.68g 35%
Vitamin C 1.4mg 2%
Iron 2.4mg 13%
Calcium 44.3mg 4%
Amount Per 100 g
Calories 580.3 Kcal (2430 kJ)
Calories from fat 474.62 Kcal
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 52.74g 65%
Sodium 58.85mg 2%
Potassium 469.93mg 8%
Total Carbs 15.08g 4%
Sugars 0.88g 3%
Dietary Fiber 6.41g 21%
Protein 21.99g 35%
Vitamin C 1.8mg 2%
Iron 3mg 13%
Calcium 55.1mg 4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Find out how many calories should you eat.

Tastes

  • salty
  • savory
  • bitter
  • sweet
Search recipes
by ingredients
Construct & Analyze
Your Recipe

Recipe Tags

Weightwatchers Points

  • 12.1
    Points
  • 13
    PointsPlus

Good Points

  • saturated fat free,
  • low sodium,
  • cholesterol free,
  • high fiber

Share Recipe

Get Your Recipe of Health!
Follow RecipeOfHealth on Facebook!
Scroll to top