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(This is day 2, part 3 of a 4-part series on world-class focaccia.)

The Crust & Crumb instructions for focaccia dough are clear and complete, so far as the actual mixing procedure goes. I’ll elaborate on three areas: quantity, scaling, and shaping.

The recipe as written makes 74 oz. of dough, which in my experience is too big for a home mixer. I often make a 2/3 or 3/4 recipe because these sizes are easier to handle. If I need more bread, I’ll make two 2/3 recipes, which is just enough for three sheet pans and will feed 30 people. I’ve written the .67x and .75x quantities into additional columns on my copy of the recipe; I recommend calculating these in advance, rather than on the fly while the mixer is running. (Never leave your mixer unattended.)

Home sheet pans measure about 18x12 inches and will take approximately 36 oz. of dough (2 lbs., 4 oz.) to fill. The best way to “scale” focaccia or any bread dough is with a fancy digital weight-measuring tool.

Filling the pans properly takes a few steps not adequately explained in Crust & Crumb (although they are documented, with photos, in the sequel, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice). I learned these techniques in class with Peter Reinhart:

1. Spray the bare pan with a small amount of oil. Any food-grade oil will do. This will anchor the parchment paper to the pan as you shape the dough.
2. Press unbleached parchment paper into the pan, then cover with a generous amount of olive oil. Spread the oil with your fingers. If you’re making multiple pans of focaccia, prepare all of them at once; you can stack them (as pictured) but take care not to get any oil on the outsides of the pans, or it will burn and smoke in the oven.
3. Finally, add 34-36 oz. dough, and follow Reinhart’s instructions for pressing the dough out. You may find that reaching under the dough with your fingers to stretch it is more effective than pressing from above.
   Be aware that the dough will relax and spread somewhat on its own as it rests overnight; therefore you need not be concerned if the dough doesn’t fill the pan completely. There is no great aesthetic concern here; people won’t like your focaccia better just because it fills the corners of the pan. In fact, if you stretch the dough too thin, it won’t rise properly.
4. Cover the dough, during or immediately following the pressing-out process, with a “generous” amount of olive oil. I used to use 1-2T, until I saw Peter Reinhart do it in person. He sloshed a big puddle of oil onto the dough, probably a half-cup of it. Start with 4T (1/4 cup) per pan. Spread it around with your fingers.
   Be sure to oil the dough before it has been exposed to air for very long. You need to prevent the top of the dough from drying out or forming a skin. You’ll feel when this happens, if you wait too long.
5. Wipe any oil off the outsides of the pans, and then insert each into a clean plastic bag. Puff air into the bag, twist the open end and tuck under the pan to hold. You want to prevent the plastic from settling into the dough, because plastic bags of this size tend not to be “food grade” plastic.

The recipe in Crust & Crumb calls for toppings to be added at this point. I have had better luck topping the dough later, immediately prior to baking, especially when I’m using heavy toppings (such as tomato slices) that could prevent the dough from rising. I’ll discuss toppings in greater detail in the 4th and final installment of this series.

Whether you top the doughs now or later, the bagged pans should go into the refrigerator to rest overnight.