Pompe a l’huile is a traditional sweet bread of Provence, also called fougasse. It’s an olive oil flatbread flavoured with orange blossom (photo – centre). It’s a custom to serve it at Christmas as part of the famous 13 desserts of Provence. The tradition is to break a piece of the bread off with your fingers, rather than cut it with a knife – which some say will protect your wealth from bankruptcy in the coming year.
Pompe a’huile recipe
500g flour (4 1/4 cups)
25g yeast (tablespoon)
75g sugar (1/3 cup)
150g olive oil (3/4 cup)
1 orange
1 lemon
10g of salt (1.5tsp)
Mix the yeast, 200g (1 1/4 cup) of flour and a glass of water and leave to rise for 45 minutes.
Add the olive oil, the remaining flour, the lemon and orange zest, salt and sugar. Mix gently and let rise for three hours.
Roll out the dough to a round shape and let rise for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven Gas Mark 7/8 (220°C).
Slash the bread (as in photo above). Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, brush with olive oil.
More delicious recipes
Courgette Fritters, recipe from Provence
Irresistibly tempting tarte de soleil
Apricot oranais – classic French breakfast and snack pastries
Flan Patissier, a classic Paris egg custard tart
