"This dough recipe is enough to make 15 x 60g dough balls if you wish. I find six are enough for me, so with the leftover dough I make a nice pan focaccia, but that's a recipe for another day. Today is all about the fried focaccia dough sarnies!"
- Baker: Rich Payne / Dough & Behold
- IG: @dough_and_behold
- Prep to baking time: 6 hrs
- Makes: 6 Sarnies
Focaccia Dough Method:
- You may have your own focaccia recipe, so please feel free to stick to what you know, if not, check this!
- Grab a large mixing bowl and pour in all your water and yeast, mix with a whisk until all dissolved, then add the olive oil, honey and whisk again. Add all your flour to the bowl along with the salt and mix together until all flour is incorporated and there are no dry bits. The dough will be wet and very sticky, that’s fine! Cover with a tea towel and let it rest for 10mins.
- After 10 mins return to your bowl perform a series of four stretches by grabbing one edge of your dough (think of your bowl as a clock and you are grabbing a piece of dough that sits at 12 O’clock!), pulling it up towards you, then pressing it over the top of the dough and squishing it down. Turn the bowl 90º and then grab another section from the 12 O’clock position and repeat the process (4 times in total) and then cover the bowl and let it rest for another 10mins.
- I repeat this process every 10 mins for one hour. By the end of the hour your dough will have developed great strength and be smooth and silky. I then leave it covered at room temp for another hour or two until it has doubled in size. If your room is cold a hack I always use is to simply turn the light on in my home oven and place my dough inside, it gives an ambient temp of 30ºc when I do this, perfect to give cold dough a boost!
- Once the dough has doubled in size I simply grab a pair of scissors and snip out what I judge to be 60g of dough. Measure this out with a set of scales to make sure each dough ball is 60g. (It doesn't matter if you go over a little. 60-70g is fine) I make 6 x 60g dough balls in total, and once measured out, I rub a little oil into my hands and then grab each dough ball and fold it into itself a few times to make a nice, round, smooth dough ball.
- If you find this tricky then place your dough ball onto a clean, smooth surface and with your dough scraper, gently shape your dough into a ball, pulling it towards you to develop a little surface tension so you get a nice tight dough ball. Once you are happy, place your dough balls into a dough tray and cover with a lid. Leave to rest for 2-3 hours max and they will be ready to fry!
Chilli Icing Glaze Method:
- Make this just before you are about to fry your dough.
- Place your icing sugar in a bowl, add 2 x Tbsp of water and mix in until smooth, if it feels too thick add another Tbsp of water, this should be enough, then add your chilli oil and whisk until all incorporated and super smooth, then place in your fridge to chill while you fry your dough ball.
Frying the Focaccia Dough Method:
- Best way to do this step is in a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer, set to high to bring it up to temperature and then lower it when you're ready to cook. I don't have a fryer though, so I use a pan.
- *SAFETY NOTICE* We recommend you take all necessary precautions if you use a chip pan at home, as they cause a fifth of all domestic fires attended by the UK fire service each year. Never fill more than a third of your pan with oil, never leave it unattended, make sure your food is dry before frying, use an appropriately sized pan in proportion to your burner and oil quantity, and familiarise yourself with further fire safety information here: Chip Pan Safety – UK Fire Service Resources. We also recommend that you dispose of used cooking oil in a safe and responsible manner - never pour it down drains, and always repurpose or recycle it where possible.
- I fill my pan no more than one third full with sunflower oil (1 litre to a 3 litre pot). I place a cooking thermometer into the oil and heat over a medium flame for 4-5 mins until the oil reaches a temp of 170ºc. When it reaches 170ºc I turn the flame down to low, open up my dough tray and sprinkle my first proved dough ball with semolina flour, slide my dough spatula underneath and gently remove it.
- I flip it quickly onto my hand and sprinkle the underside with a little semolina flour (so it doesn’t stick - this also helps dry up any surface moisture which is another safety tip when you're deep frying), then place onto a metallic slotted spoon and gently ease it into the pan of oil. Watch it bubble up with glee for about 1 minute, then with the slotted spoon and another spoon, carefully flip the dough ball over so the top half can be fried. Let it fry for another minute or two then flip again. Do this a few times for a total of 6 minutes and you should end up with a lovely, golden brown dough ball. Remove the dough ball from the pan and place on some kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil and cool.
- While the dough is cooling get your chilli glaze out of the fridge and the rest of your sandwich fillings ready.
- When the dough ball has cooled enough, grab a bread knife and slice it in half. Add a drizzle of olive oil to each half, then, to the bottom half add a few basil leaves, two slices of Parma ham, and then break open a ball of burrata over the ham and place a few small pieces on top. Grab your basil pesto and spoon a small amount over the top, then zest a little bit of lemon over this. Your filling is complete, not long to go now!
- Give your chilli icing a quick stir with a spoon then grab the top half of your dough ball and gently dip the crust topside into the glaze making sure it’s all covered, then carefully place it on top of your filled sandwich. Sprinkle some crushed pistachios on top and a pinch of sea salt flakes. I used Maldon chilli salt flakes for extra kick!
- Stand back, admire the most beautiful sandwich you have ever made, and imagine your first bite into this beauty! It’s basically the most delicious savoury sweet doughnut you could ever eat! I’ve made this same sandwich using my standard Neapolitan pizza dough and it also works a treat. I found using and 80% hydration focaccia dough you get a lighter, more airy bake, so if you have pizza dough and don’t want to make the focaccia dough, it will still be just as tasty, just not quite as light!
If you ever need any help, feel free to drop me a DM on Instagram (@dough_and_behold) and I’ll always try and reply. I hope you love this sarnie as much as I did! Happy frying!
