black olive fougasse – zwarte olijven fougasse - flat bread 11 - plat brood 11 (GF-DF-SF)

A fougasse is the French name of foccaccia, a delicious Mediterranean flat bread.
In this classic I put chopped black olives, olive oil and rosemary.
When making a gluten free bread you are always concerned that it will be tasty, but also will it be a little like the “real thing” or what you remember to be the real thing. I believe that this flat bread is nothing like the real (full of gluten) thing, but it is, also for non-celiacs, a very nice and flavorsome bread. And it’s all about taste,(and looks, ok).

Maybe the best things  to let go are the memories of the “real thing” and really accept that this is the new real thing. Creating new flavors and your own reality is much more rewarding than trying to copy something from the past.

We live in a time and place that there is an abundance of food and (too) much choices to be made. For me it’s better to stick to the natural gluten free resources that already exist and choose from there instead of creating all kind of fake foods filled with starches, sugar and additives I do not want to put in my body, like the gluten free food industry is doing.
I’m still in a healing process, or my intestines are (still after 4 years!), so I need wholesome foods, good food, energy giving food, naturally grown food.

I needed to get this in written words, because  many times I’m disappointed when I read about the contents of new gluten free products. I want to keep it simple. And it is.
Also for friends who want to cook for me. It is not difficult, just use natural foods!
This weekend I was at a birthday party and my friend M. made a cold buffet and soup. The first thing she told me was that everything she made was gluten free. I was really touched! This doesn’t happen often! She even bought me some special date nut sweet instead of the chocolate cake for the other guests.
To give and receive this attention to your food, health and friends is all that counts, not the gluten!

And now to the kitchen to make this delicious bread.
You can keep it for 2 days or freeze it in pieces!

Black olive fougasse

110 g buckwheat flour
100 g brown rice flour
60 g almond flour
75 g quinoa flour
½ tsp sea salt
2 full tsp dry yeast
1 tsp honey
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp apple or cider vinegar
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
20 black olives, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
½ tbsp Maldon sea salt flakes

Take your time to make the bread. When you eat it with soup, first make the dough, let it rise and make the soup.

Mix the flours with the tapioca and the salt.
Stir the honey and the yeast in the warm water in a glass bowl, cover it and let it come to live in a warm spot for about 10 minutes. Add the olive oil and vinegar to the yeast mixture, give it a stir and pour it in the middle of the flour mix. Put in the chopped olives and the rosemary too. With a (wooden)spoon stir vigorously till the dough starts to form. It’s hard work and the dough stays rather sticky!

Scoop it to a baking tray covered with oiled baking paper, flatten the dough in a nice fougasse shape with wet hands, cover it with a piece of oiled cling film and a clean cloth and let it rise for at least an hour on a warm spot.

Pre heat the oven on 200˚C.

Remove the cloth and when your fougasse is well risen (a little is ok) sprinkle it with some more olive oil and salt flakes.
Bake the bread in the middle of the oven nice golden brown in 25-30 minutes.

Suggestion: I remember my old friend Y, who lives in France now, she always made this lovely bread with loads of chopped garlic and some gorgonzola on top of it. Make your own variations, it’s free!

Zwarte olijven fougasse
 110 g boekweitmeel
100 g bruine rijst meel
60 g amandelmeel
75 g quinoameel
½ tl zeezout
2 volle tl droge gist
1 tl honing
250 ml warm water
2 el olijfolie
1 tl appel- of ciderazijn
2 el fijngehakte verse rozemarijn
20 zwarte olijven grof gehakt
1 el olijfolie
½ el Maldon zeezout flakes

Neem de tijd om dit brood te maken, het moet rijzen. Dus maak eerst je deeg, dan een lekker soepje en bak later het brood af.

Mix de meelsoorten, de tapioca en het zout in een kom.
Roer de honing en de gist met het warme water in een glazen kom. Zet even apart op een warme plek zodat de gist kan gaan werken, ongeveer 10 minuten.
Voeg olijfolie en azijn toe aan het gistmengsel en giet dit in het midden van het meelmengsel.
Roer samen met de olijven en rozemarijn met een pollepel goed door elkaar tot het deeg samenkomt. Het is flink zwaar roeren en het deeg blijft heel plakkerig!
Schep het deeg op een met bakpapier bekleedde bakplaat, ingevet met olijfolie, en vorm met vochtig gemaakte handen een mooie platte fougasse. Bedek met een met olie ingesmeerd stuk huishoudfolie en een schone theedoek en laat minstens 1 uur rijzen op een warme plek.

Verwarm dan de oven voor op 200 ˚C.

Haal de theedoek van het deeg en als je fougasse goed gerezen is, besprenkel je het brood met wat olijfolie en de zout flakes. Bak de fougasse in het midden van de warme oven tot goudbruin in ongeveer 25-30 minuten.

Suggestie: ik herinner me mijn oude vriendin Y, die nu in Frankrijk woont, zij maakte altijd haar fougasse met grofgehakte knoflook en gorgonzola erboven op, heel erg lekker.
Maak je eigen variant: dat kost niets!