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Fouées
Fouées tourangelles, Touraine's puffed little breads, with vegetarian fillings
In the troglodyte restaurants carved into the tufa cliffs near Saumur and Tours, bakers slap small rounds of bread dough onto the floor of a wood-fired oven, and in a minute they puff up like balloons. Fouées (also called fouaces) are split while still steaming and filled at the table, and a fouée evening is a favourite outing for families and groups in the Loire. Rillettes are the classic filling, but butter, fresh goat's cheese and garlicky white mogette beans are just as traditional, and those are what we use here. At home, a very hot oven and a preheated tray do the job. Chef's tip: roll the rounds evenly thin, about 4 mm; uneven dough puffs only on one side.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the dough
For the fillings
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast and 1 ½ tsp salt in a bowl, add 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water and 1 tbsp olive oil and knead for 10 minutes into a smooth, springy dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled.
70 minStep 2: Meanwhile, warm 14 oz cooked white beans (mogettes or cannellini) with 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 garlic clove in a small pan for 5 minutes, crushing about half of them with a fork. Stir in 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley and season. Put 3 ½ oz salted butter and 7 oz fresh soft goat's cheese in small bowls.
5 minStep 3: Heat the oven to its highest setting, at least 475°F, with two heavy baking trays or a pizza stone inside, for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 4: Divide the dough into 18 pieces and roll each into a round about 10 cm across and 4 mm thick. Leave them on a floured cloth for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 5: Lay 6 rounds on the hot tray and bake for 3–5 minutes, until they puff into a ball and have pale golden patches. Common mistake: opening the oven to check before 3 minutes; the heat drops and they stay flat.
5 minStep 6: Wrap the baked fouées in a cloth to keep warm and bake the rest. Serve hot: each person splits a fouée and spreads it with butter, goat's cheese or the warm beans.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 590 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 77 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fouées take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
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