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1
Combine the Type 65 flour, water, salt, yeast or levain, and olive oil in a mixing bowl. Mix until a cohesive dough forms. If using olives, lardons, anchovies, or herbes de Provence, incorporate them during the final minutes of mixing — all wet additions must be patted dry before they enter the dough. The dough is ready when it is smooth and all additions are evenly distributed.
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2
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and allow it to undergo bulk fermentation at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready to divide when it has visibly risen and feels airy and extensible under the hand.
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3
Divide the dough into two pieces of 300–400 g each. Flatten each piece into an oval approximately 30 cm long and 1 cm thick. Using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut 5 to 7 angled slashes on each side of a central line, in the manner of a leaf or wheat stalk. This is where the dish lives or dies: the slashes must be stretched immediately and firmly open with the fingers — if the dough is left unattended even briefly, it relaxes and the holes close during proofing, collapsing the openwork structure entirely.
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4
Transfer the shaped fougasses to a lightly floured surface or baking peel. Proof for 20 to 30 minutes — the brevity is correct and intentional, owing to the flatness of the dough. The pieces should look slightly puffed but retain their open cuts.
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5
Place the oven stone or baking steel on the oven sole and preheat to 230–240 °C. Drizzle olive oil over the surface of each fougasse just before loading. Slide the fougasses directly onto the oven sole. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes without steam. The fougasse is done when it is deeply golden across the entire surface and crackling-crisp to the tap of a finger.
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6
Remove from the oven and serve warm. The finished fougasse should be redolent of olive oil. It is served at table to be pulled apart by hand into individual portions along its cuts.