Kalonymus Ben Kalonymus, a Provençal Jewish philosopher, writer, and translator who wrote in the early part of the fourteenth century, satirized the Jewish community of Arles for dreaming, while at synagogue, about the honey, milk, and flour that they would use to make their ladder breads for Shavuot. Although fougasse was and is usually made with oil, at this Jewish holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah and the abundance of dairy products at the time of the barley harvest, the Jews used milk. The fougasse was baked in the shape of a so- called ladder, with holes, and candied cherries or candied orange peel hung or embedded in the dough. Ladders to heaven are a common metaphor for holiday breads in Judaism. The fougasse, kneaded and shaped by hand at home for the Sabbath and holidays, was then carried on a board to the baker, sometimes Jewish and sometimes Christian, depending on the size of the Jewish community in the town.

　　

Ingredients

2 fougasses

　　2 teaspoons active dry yeast

　　1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for brushing

　　6 to 8 cups all-purpose flour

　　1 tablespoon salt

　　Semolina for dusting

　　

Step 1

Put the yeast, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water in the bowl of a standing mixer and blend. Add 6 cups of the flour and the salt gradually to the yeast mixture, stirring with the dough hook and adding more flour as necessary until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a ball and let rise in a bowl, covered, for one hour, then divide the dough into two portions. Roll each out into an oval about 1/4 inch thick.

　　

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, scatter some semolina on a cookie sheet, and transfer the dough onto the prepared sheet. Let rise for 30 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Brush with additional olive oil, and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Eat when warm, if possible.

　　Cooks' Note

　　To make a butter fougasse, substitute 1/2 cup softened butter for the oil and 1 1/2 cups milk for the water, and add 1/4 cup honey.

　　Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous