Sourdough focaccia is dimpled and golden on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside! It’s a simple bread where sourdough starter and olive oil shine.
Photography by Sophie MacKenzie.
Crisp, soft, and with a wonderful olive oil flavour, sourdough focaccia is the ideal flatbread. With minimal shaping and no special equipment needed, it’s also a great beginner’s sourdough recipe.
Use the tastiest olive oil you have for the best flavour, and see below for some suggestions on toppings for your bread. We love basic salt and rosemary, but there are unlimited options, and focaccia can be so much fun.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Recommended Tools
A bench scraper is always handy when working with sourdough, and focaccia dough is a bit on the stickier side.
If you’re not 100% confident with your shaping, use a baking dish that will prevent the dough from spreading out too much. This should be smaller than a cookie sheet – think more like a casserole dish. It’ll prevent the focaccia from becoming too thin, even if the dough hasn’t had the best shaping!
Ingredients
- Flour: use either white or bread flour. You could sub up to half whole wheat.
- Starter: active, fed starter that’s just peaked. This is not a sourdough discard recipe.
- Water: use room temp water for the best rise. Cold water will slow it down.
- Honey: or sugar if preferred.
- Olive Oil: don’t sub another oil – olive oil is a key flavour of focaccia.
- Salt: sea salt. If using kosher, increase the amount slightly.
- Toppings: see below for topping ideas.
Keep scrolling to see clear and detailed process shots, as well as tips and notes to help you make Sourdough Focaccia perfectly the first time!
Method
TOP TIPS
1. Remove from the pan. Take the bread out of the pan as soon as possible and place it on a wire rack. If it cools on the baking sheet, it will soften.
2. Chill before shaping. This isn’t mandatory, but it will make the dough easier to work with if you’re not so confident. Rise until doubled and then refrigerate for at least a couple hours before shaping.
3. Keep oil under the bread. There must be olive oil under the dough before you set it aside to rise. Make sure to spread the oil out again on the pan before pressing the bread out.
Recipe Notes
- The olive oil is definitely not negotiable! You’ll lose the classic focaccia texture if you reduce or omit the oil.
- Topping with herbs when the bread is fresh out of the oven has a couple of benefits. First, it prevents the burning that would occur if the herbs were baked. Second, adding them when the bread is still very hot releases the scented oils, bringing out plenty of flavour.
- Taking the bread out of the pan almost immediately is to ensure the base of your sourdough focaccia stays crispy. If it cools on the baking sheet, it will soften from condensation and no one wants a soggy bottom.
- For a stronger sourdough flavour, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours rather than the shorter bulk ferment at room temperature.
- If your home is quite warm, we recommend making the dough in the morning so you can keep an eye on it, and prevent over-proofing. Or refrigerate for the bulk ferment, until doubled in size.
How to Store and Freeze Sourdough Focaccia
- To Store – keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. It will soften as it sits but still tastes good!
- To Freeze – place in an airtight container and freeze up to a month, or wrap well beforehand and freeze up to six months.
Substitutions
- We prefer bread flour when making sourdough bread, but all-purpose flour works just as well here since there’s not as much of a structural requirement as for a boule.
- Change up the herbs and other toppings to suit your preferences – see below for some suggestions.
- Honey can be switched out for sugar.
Focaccia Topping Ideas
We have a whole list with 40 Focaccia Topping Ideas you can check out. Here are a few of our favourites:
- Bacon
- Blue cheese
- Capers
- Dukkah
- Fresh Herbs
- Grapes
- Prosciutto
- Roasted Garlic
- Za’atar
FAQ
If you sourdough is gummy (this applies to all sourdough, not just focaccia) it’s probably underproved. Head over to this post on troubleshooting for sourdough for more information.
This isn’t sourdough pizza crust – your focaccia should be at least 3cm thick! Any thinner and it’s too crisp, without the distinctive soft, fluffy interior crumb.
This is a common method used in sourdough baking, and it replaces the kneading process. It encourages the formation of gluten in the dough. You can see how to do it and more info in this post on how to stretch and fold sourdough.
More Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Dinner Rolls (No-Knead)
Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread
25% Whole Wheat Sourdough Loaf
Sourdough Crackers
Spelt Sourdough Bread
If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.
Recipe
Sourdough Focaccia
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Tea towel
- Plate
- baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- ½ cup active sourdough starter
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ cup olive oil, divided
- 2 ¼ cups 2 ¼ cups all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 heaping teaspoon sea salt
Additional ingredient
- olive oil, for drizzling, plus any other focaccia toppings
Instructions
- Add the starter a large bowl. Stir in the water, honey, and ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, mixing to combine.
- Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms.
- Rest the dough for about 10 minutes before doing a round of stretches and folds. Repeat this twice more, once every 10 minutes, for a total of three rounds.
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and a large plate. Let it sit out at room temperature overnight, or for about 12 hours. It should be doubled in size after this time.
- Add the second ¼ cup (60 ml) of olive oil to the base of a baking sheet and place the dough onto it.
- Fold the dough into a rough rectangle, lifting and pulling one side toward the centre and repeating with each side until all 4 have been folded in.
- Flip the dough seam side down onto the pan, making sure there’s oil under the dough.
- Use your hands to stretch and press the dough out to the edges of the pan until the pan is almost filled or the dough is about 3 cm (1 inch) thick.
- Cover the dough, or place it into the oven with the door closed, and rise a second time for at least 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size again. (This may need up to 4 hours, depending on how active your starter is.)
- Preheat oven to 425°F (210°C). Oil your hands and use the tips of your fingers to gently press into the dough to create dimples all over the surface.
- Top the dough with anything you’d like (see the topping ideas for inspiration), drizzle with olive oil, and add a sprinkle of salt.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top and sides of the bread are a dark golden colour.
- Top with finely chopped herbs as soon as it comes out of the oven, and remove from the pan as soon as you can to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
- Focaccia is best fresh, but can be stored for a few days in an airtight container, or frozen up to a month.
Notes
Substitutions
We prefer bread flour when making sourdough bread, but all-purpose flour works just as well here since there’s not as much of a structural requirement as for a boule. Change up the herbs and other toppings to suit your preferences – see below for some suggestions. Honey can be switched out for sugar.Nutrition
This post was first published in March 2020. It has been updated as of April 2021, with no changes to the recipe.
Sue says
Just wondering if I can do the second rise in the refrigerator?
Thanks
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Sue, that should work fine. We haven’t tested this but you’ll just have to keep an eye on it to see when it’s fully risen and ready to bake.
Roxolana says
I do my first rise in the refrigerator overnight and then let it sit to come to room temperature and rise more. Then I proceed to do the stretch and the last rise in a pan.
Joan says
I actually have made this focaccia frequently (per my review in the other tab) and always put it in the refrigerator after the initial rise. It needs several hours at room temperature to be ready to bake, but it turns out beautifully. I have also used this dough as a “thick” crust pizza topping with sauteed sausage or ground beef, etc. Works and tastes great! Can’t recommend it enough.
Stephanie Lindberg says
I’ve never nailed a bread recipe on the first try until now. This was perfection!
Kristen says
Recently made this for my partner… first focaccia I tried using starter. Only change I made was add 1/4 cup olive oil infused with garlic and rosemary to the dough. He said it’s the best focaccia he has had in his life! Now I’m making again as my new go-to recipe. Thank you!
Roxolana says
Love the recipe! Thank you!
Darlene says
I’m still a little confused..
Do stretches, then let rise, then put in baking pan and in refrig over night .
Then take out of frig, let rise the bake?
Correct?
Thanks
Darlene
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Darlene, if you want to refrigerate, it should rise at room temp until doubled in the bowl it’s mixed in. Then cover and refrigerate. Take the cold dough out of the fridge and shape it on the pan, rise, and then bake.