Soft Maple Walnut Milk Focaccia

Steps

1. Prepare first: toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 4–5 minutes until fragrant, cool, then roughly chop. Divide them: 120 g for the dough and the remaining 40 g for the topping.
2. Warm the milk to about 95°F (35°C) and have the lukewarm water ready.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, the yeast and the salt. Add the milk, the water, 15 g of the maple syrup and 10 g of the olive oil, and stir until no dry flour remains. This is about 76% hydration (counting the water in the milk) and 2% salt.
4. Cover and rest 15 minutes, then add the 120 g of dough walnuts and fold them in with wet hands until evenly spread.
5. Bulk rise at about 75°F (24°C) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, doing 3 sets of stretch-and-folds 30 minutes apart in the first hour, until the dough has doubled in size and looks bubbly.
6. Pour 20 g of the olive oil into a 9x13-inch pan. Tip the dough in, turn it to coat, and gently stretch it toward the corners; if it springs back, rest 10 minutes and stretch again.
7. Cover and proof at about 75°F (24°C) for 45–60 minutes, until puffy and a gentle poke springs back slowly. Near the end, preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
8. Stir the remaining 20 g of olive oil with the remaining 10 g of maple syrup and the rosemary. Dimple the dough deeply with oiled fingers, drizzle the maple-rosemary oil over it, and scatter the 40 g of topping walnuts on top, pressing them in lightly.
9. Bake 22–25 minutes, until golden and the center reads 190°F (88°C). For a soft crust, cover the pan loosely with a clean towel for the first 10 minutes out of the oven.
10. Lift the focaccia onto a rack and cool at least 20 minutes before cutting into 12 slices.