Spinach Artichoke “Dip” Focaccia
I love a good spinach artichoke dip, so I thought - why not make it into a bread?! This focaccia is ~ essentially ~ like eating a salad (or so I tell myself). But in all seriousness, there is a LOT of spinach packed into this bread! The artichokes and cheese also add such a delicious finishing touch. Feel free to adjust the amount of spinach if you’re not a huge fan - but to be honest, it’s not the dominant overall flavor. This is a great way to get some picky eaters to ingest some greens!
If you’re making this dough in a cold winter climate (like I did), you’ll want to feed your sourdough starter so that it’s ripe for use at around 9pm. I had no problem leaving this dough on the counter overnight (no fridge time). If you’re making this in a very warm, humid climate, you might want to split the bulk fermentation time up (some hours at room temp, fridge overnight, a few more hours the next day — as it will likely overproof if you leave it on the counter overnight). Every kitchen and starter is different, so you’ll have to experiment and see what works best for you and the environment around you! Note: I also used 1g of dry active yeast because this is a DENSE bread and it needed a little extra push to get it to rise correctly.
To prepare the spinach:
6 cups packed baby spinach
Stock pot of boiling water
Bowl full of ice and water
For the dough:
500g AP or bread flour
12g salt
500g spinach puree plus water
100g sourdough starter
1g dry active yeast (optional)
For topping:
Olive oil
Artichoke hearts
Boursin herbed cheese
Instructions
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl, then set aside.
Boil a large pot of water and blanch the spinach. Keep it in the boiling water just until all the leaves have softened and are bright green. Immediately transfer spinach to a large bowl full of ice and water. Then puree the spinach in a food processor until it is very smooth.
Weigh the puree in a large measuring cup or bowl - and add water until the total weight of puree and water = 500g.
Add the sourdough starter and the 1g of dry active yeast (if using) to the spinach-water mixture and combine thoroughly with a whisk.
Pour the water/starter/spinach mixture into the flour/salt bowl and mix until there are no dry bits of flour left. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. This is a wet dough.
6. Perform a round of pull/folds all around the dough by stretching the dough up on one side and folding it back over into the center. It helps to do this with wet hands. Do this on all sides until you have a smooth round of dough in the bowl. Cover and let rest for another 30 minutes.
7. The dough will have relaxed, so now repeat step 6 to continue building some strength into the dough. Cover and let rest another 30 minutes.
8. Line a 8x12 inch rectangular cake pan (or a large cast iron pan or an oven safe round pan) with parchment paper and drizzle some olive oil all over the bottom and the sides.
9. At this point, perform one more round of pull/folds and then turn the dough out into the lined pan. Gently encourage the dough to spread out a little, but don’t work it too much. Cover the top of the pan with cling wrap (not touching the dough) or put the pan into a giant plastic bag and seal it closed. Let it sit on the counter overnight.
Instructions continue below.
7. To bake the focaccia dough in the morning, pre-heat the oven to 425F. Lightly oil your fingers and press into the dough, creating dimples and bubbles. Drizzle more olive oil on top of the dough, and arrange the roughly chopped artichoke hearts. Lastly, add the crumbled cheese. You can carefully press the toppings into the dough as well.
8. Bake for 40-45 minutes, tenting the pan with foil after 30 minutes if it appears to be burning on top. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to allow it to fully cool. Slice and enjoy!
I’d love to see your creations! Tag @nokneadtoworry on Instagram.
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My Sourdough Method
Sourdough Bagels