Same Day Cassava Focaccia

A soft cassava-infused focaccia with the perfect golden crust. Comes together in a few hours for same-day indulgence!

Prep Time: 3

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 3 40

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine: Caribbean, Italian, Jamaican

Keyword: cassava, cassava bread, focaccia, same day focaccia

Servings: 9-13 bread

Author: Ainseanlea @ The Stush Kitchen

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2 lbs cassava root both frozen and/or fresh work
2 cups water
4 ¾ cups white bread flour 510 g or 18 oz
1 ¾ tsp instant yeast
1 ½ TBSP olive oil plus extra (~3-4 TBSP) for drizzling on dough before baking
½ tsp granulated sugar can substitute same amount of brown sugar or double the amount of liquid sweetener (see notes/blog post)
1 ½ tsp table salt
1-2 tsp flaked sea salt for sprinkling on top
herbs and other topping as desired eg. rosemary leaves, chili flakes etc

Add the cassava root and water to a high-powered blender and blend til smooth.
Transfer the blended mixture to a nut milk bag and strain, squeezing to extract all the liquid.
Allow the strained liquid to sit for at least 5 minutes. A thick glue-like substance (tapioca starch) will settle at the bottom.
Once the starch settles, gently pour the the liquid off the top, making sure not to get any of the tapioca starch. Discard the tapioca starch.
You should end up with at least 2 cups of cassava milk. If you are short, ensure first that you have squeezed all of the liquid from the nut milk bag. If you have, you can top the cassava milk off with water to get a total volume of 2 cups.
If you have an excess, you'll only be using 2 cups for the dough.

Add all the dry ingredients (bread flour, instant yeast, sugar & table salt) to a bowl and to evenly distribute.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then add all the (room temperature) wet ingredients - 2 cups of the cassava milk from earlier & the olive oil.
Using a spatula, mix until the dough just comes together. It will be lumpy and sticky. This is fine.
Cover the focaccia dough plastic wrap or a lid and allow to rest in a relatively warm place for 30 minutes.

After allowing the dough to rest it is time for the first stretch and fold. Wet your hand with room temperature water and keep a cup or bowl of water on hand as needed. This will help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
Reach under the dough, pinching it to pull it upward, stretching it in the process. Pull it across, tucking it into the other side of the dough directly across from where you originally pulled.
Repeat the above 2 steps 4-6 more times pulling from different sections of the dough until the dough begins to form into a ball. The ball won't be perfect or tight. This is fine. See the blog post if you're a visual learner!
Cover the dough again and allow to rest for another 30 minutes.
Repeat the stretch and fold process a second time allowing the dough to rest for another 30 minutes after this second fold.
Complete a third stretch & fold. Transfer the dough to a 9x13 inch pan lined with parchment paper then drizzled with olive oil and allow it to rest & rise covered for an hour but no more than 2 hours to avoid over-proofing.

Preheat the oven to 425°F
After allowing the dough to rest, stretch it - pulling it to the edges and into the corners or the pan.
Drizzle some olive oil on top of the dough and, using your finger tips, massage the dough to dimple it for that characteristic focaccia look. Bubbles will form - these are good; do NOT pop them!
Sprinkle the flaked sea salt on top of the dough. If using additional herbs or other toppings add those now before baking.
Bake at 425°F for 20-35 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Wait for the dough to cool slightly before slicing to prevent excessive drying out.

If substituting the granulated sugar, use the same amount of brown or maple sugar but double the amount (1 tsp) of any liquid sweetener like honey, agave or maple syrup. Sugar substitutes like those that contain erythritol will not work since they do not contain any sugar.
Spoon the flour into your measuring cup to avoid adding too much flour. Scooping directly with the measuring cup can cause the flour to be packed resulting in inadvertently using more flour than called for in the recipe.
Cassava root cannot be substituted for cassava flour. Look in the frozen section of your grocery store. Most times it will be close to or in the vicinity of the frozen plantains. Alternatively, you can find fresh cassava at many international stores that carry fresh produce.

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