Midnight Poolish Focaccia Slice

A quick evening dough with overnight preferment: airy, crispy, and seasoned with a spicy kick.

Preparation

1. The night before, prepare the preferment: Mix 150 g of flour, 150 g of water, and 1 g of fresh yeast until smooth. Cover and let it ferment at room temperature for 10–14 hours until it is airy and shows many bubbles.
2. Tear the baguette or ciabatta into small pieces, pour 80 g of water over it, and let it soak for 10 minutes. Then lightly crush it to create a soft bread mixture.
3. Combine the preferment, soaked bread, remaining flour, remaining yeast, salt, and olive oil, and knead into a very soft dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
4. Stretch and fold the dough for 2–3 minutes, then cover and let it rise for 60 minutes. After 30 minutes, stretch and fold it again.
5. Grease a small pan or baking sheet for 2 servings well with olive oil. Place the dough in it, gently stretch it out, and let it relax for 20–30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 240 °C (464 °F) with top and bottom heat. Deeply dimple the surface of the dough with oiled fingers.
7. For Focaccia, bake directly: Bake for 18–22 minutes until golden brown, until the surface is crispy and the edges have risen significantly.
8. For pizza dough, instead of using the pan, stretch the dough into a round or oval shape on a lightly oiled surface, top as desired, and bake very hot for 10–14 minutes.
9. Let it steam off briefly and serve warm.