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Prep time
1 hour 45 minutes
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Cook time
25 minutes
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Serves
12
Author Notes
Like a giant bagel! I started with the classic focaccia in Alexandra Stafford’s Bread Toast Crumbs, then added signature pumpernickel ingredients: rye flour, cornmeal, molasses, cocoa, and caraway. To yield the lukewarm water, add 1/2 cup just-boiled water to 1 1/2 cups cold water. —Emma Laperruque
Ingredients
- Pumpernickel Focaccia
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3 cups
all-purpose flour
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1 cup
rye flour
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1/4 cup
cornmeal
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2 tablespoons
caraway seeds
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5 teaspoons
cocoa powder
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2 teaspoons
kosher salt
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2 1/4 teaspoons
instant yeast
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2 cups
lukewarm water (see headnote)
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1 tablespoon
olive oil
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3 tablespoons
molasses
- Lox, Schmear & Fixings
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1 1/2 cups
whole-milk Greek yogurt (Cabot makes a delightfully thick one)
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1 pound
thinly sliced lox
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1
red onion, halved and sliced as thinly as possible
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1/4 cup
drained capers
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1/2 cup
barely chopped dill
Directions
- Pumpernickel Focaccia
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Make the dough. Whisk the all-purpose flour, rye flour, cornmeal, caraway seeds, cocoa, salt, and instant yeast in a big bowl. Combine the water, olive oil, and molasses in a measuring cup or bowl. (Psst: If you measure the olive oil first, then the molasses, it’ll slide right out of the spoon instead of sticking to everything.) Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and stir together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. It will yield a very sticky dough.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
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When it’s ready, preheat the oven to 425° F and arrange a rack in the lower third. Line a rimmed sheet tray with parchment.
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Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to the sheet tray. Touch your palms to the oil, to grease them just a bit. Now deflate the focaccia dough by pulling the edges toward the center. Transfer to the sheet tray and roll around in the oil. Use your palms and fingertips to flatten into a rectangle. When it resists stretching any further, leave it alone. Let be for 20 minutes. Right before you bake, use your fingertips to flatten the focaccia a little more, so it fills out the pan.
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Bake for 25 minutes until deeply browned and crusty to the touch. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. (If you leave it there to cool completely, it may start to steam and lose its crust.)
- Lox, Schmear & Fixings
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When the focaccia has completely cooled, build the open-faced slab sandwich. Spread with Greek yogurt (an offset spatula works well here). Layer with lox. Sprinkle with onion, then capers, then dill. Cut into squares or rectangles.
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.
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