I hate it when people get frustrated with bread. Not in a judgmental way — in a sad way, because I want everyone to love baking the way I do.
And honestly? Most of the time when a recipe flops, it's not the baker and it's not the recipe. It's that the recipe was written for someone else's kitchen. Different flour, different oven, different elevation, different humidity. So before you start, I really want you to localize this to your setup. Drop the recipe and the prompt below into Claude (claude.ai is free) and let it adjust for you.
🧅 The localization prompt
I'm making this focaccia recipe and want you to help me localize it to my kitchen before I start. Adjust hydration, fermentation times, yeast amount, oven temp, and bake time as needed for my conditions. Flag anything that's likely to go wrong and tell me what to watch for instead of relying on the timing in the recipe.My conditions:
- Location / elevation:
- Kitchen temperature right now:
- Humidity (rough guess is fine — dry, average, humid):
- Flour brand(s) I'm using:
- Oven type (gas/electric, convection or not):
- Pan I'm baking in (size and material):
- Anything unusual (sourdough starter instead of yeast, gluten-free flour swap, doubling the recipe, etc.):
The recipe:
Dough Formula
- 400g all-purpose flour
- 150g hard white whole wheat flour
- 11g salt
- 5g instant yeast
- 440g water (room temp, ~75°F)
- 35g olive oil
Hydration: ~78%
Caramelized Onions
Start these once you get the dough going. They take 45–60 minutes and need to cool first.
- 2–3 large yellow onions, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp butter or olive oil (or both)
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: splash of balsamic or white wine to deglaze
Low and slow in a heavy pan. Stir every few minutes. Don't rush it — you want deep amber and jammy, not just softened. Cool completely before using.
Step 1 — Mix
Combine flours, yeast, and salt. Add water and olive oil. Mix until shaggy and fully hydrated.
Rest 30 minutes.
Step 2 — Strength Building (4 Folds)
Fold 1 (30 min mark): Loose, sticky, tears easily. Fold, rest 25 min.
Fold 2: Smoother, more elastic. Fold, rest 25 min.
Fold 3: Noticeably more cohesive, stretches thin. Fold, rest 25 min.
Fold 4: Pillowy, supple, holds shape. Stop here.
Step 3 — Bulk Ferment
90 minutes to 2 hours. Do not rush this.
Ready when:
- Doubled in volume
- Big bubbles visible on sides
- Jiggles like loose Jello
- Stretches with big airy strands when pulled
Step 4 — Transfer to Pan
Oil pan generously. Turn dough out and let gravity do the work. If it resists spreading wait 15 minutes, don't force it.
Step 5 — Final Proof
45–60 minutes.
Ready when:
- Visibly puffy and pillowy
- Finger poke springs back slowly and only halfway
Step 6 — Dimple + Top
Oil your fingers. Press straight down to the bottom, don't drag.
Add caramelized onions across the surface — press them gently into the dimples. Drizzle olive oil over everything. Flaky salt.
Optional: fresh thyme scattered on top before baking.
Step 7 — Bake
425°F, lower middle rack, 22–28 minutes
Done when:
- Deep golden
- Edges crisp
- Bottom browned
- Internal temp 205–210°F
Rest on a wire rack immediately after pulling from pan.
Walk me through the adjusted version step by step. Where you've changed something from the original, briefly tell me why so I can learn the logic. At each stage, give me sensory cues to look for ("dough should feel like X," "bubbles should look like Y") instead of just times, since my timeline will drift from the recipe's anyway.
If you try this, I'd genuinely love to see how it turns out. Send me pictures. 🧅