I would also agree with stealth_cookies. In terms of hydration we just calculate the ratio of water / flour in a percentage form. So 175 / 280 is definitely too low for a bread-like food, just like focaccia. By using a higher hydration ratio we can get way more airiness on the cost of harder folding due to stickiness, but we use a simple trick for that. In my case I use the same methods and similar ratios as her, but with sourdough (https://youtu.be/O1WQTKuWWfM).
If you feel unconfident with handling high hydration doughs, then you could just start with 200g water, which would be 71.5%. I always go with a 75% or a bit higher hydration tbf. I would try to follow the steps as shown in the video, but generally speaking your steps seems to be good. Also to combat the stickiness when you’re folding, you can just sprinkle your hand with some water and do the folding via that way. Don’t worry, after every 20-30 min of resting, the stickiness of the dough will noticeably decrease or even vanish away completely.
stealth_cookies also mentioned the requirement of using olive oil. I would generally agree with this as well, but since olive oil is the “liquid gold”, I tried using a simple vegetable oil as a replacement on my last focaccia and while the taste difference can maybe be a bit noticeable if you’re examining it thoroughly, but it’s still really great without strictly using olive oil as well.
EDIT: Also preferably use a bread flour instead of all-purpose, since the former can make a better gluten network structure and provide more airiness, but it’s not the end of the world if you prefer to remain with all-purpose.
I would also agree with stealth_cookies. In terms of hydration we just calculate the ratio of water / flour in a percentage form. So 175 / 280 is definitely too low for a bread-like food, just like focaccia. By using a higher hydration ratio we can get way more airiness on the cost of harder folding due to stickiness, but we use a simple trick for that. In my case I use the same methods and similar ratios as her, but with sourdough (https://youtu.be/O1WQTKuWWfM).
If you feel unconfident with handling high hydration doughs, then you could just start with 200g water, which would be 71.5%. I always go with a 75% or a bit higher hydration tbf. I would try to follow the steps as shown in the video, but generally speaking your steps seems to be good. Also to combat the stickiness when you’re folding, you can just sprinkle your hand with some water and do the folding via that way. Don’t worry, after every 20-30 min of resting, the stickiness of the dough will noticeably decrease or even vanish away completely.
stealth_cookies also mentioned the requirement of using olive oil. I would generally agree with this as well, but since olive oil is the “liquid gold”, I tried using a simple vegetable oil as a replacement on my last focaccia and while the taste difference can maybe be a bit noticeable if you’re examining it thoroughly, but it’s still really great without strictly using olive oil as well.
EDIT: Also preferably use a bread flour instead of all-purpose, since the former can make a better gluten network structure and provide more airiness, but it’s not the end of the world if you prefer to remain with all-purpose.