Simple Sourdough Focaccia Bread [bubbly + delicious]
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You need a good sourdough focaccia bread recipe in your collection.
Focaccia is super simple - it really just requires patience - but that's not new for sourdough, right?
This simple sourdough bread recipe requires a strong sourdough starter - and lots of love.
You can top sourdough focaccia bread with anything you like! I love the classic flavors of sea salt and fresh rosemary, but I've put some other suggestions further down for you to try. You're really only limited by your imagination! And if you love trying different toppings, check out these sourdough focaccia bread muffins.
I know you don't want to know my life story ... but focaccia bread is something that I have been making since I lived in Italy as a teenager.
Back then I made it with yeast, but now I love that I can make it even more special by using my sourdough starter.
It really does add a depth of flavor that you just can't get from commercial yeast.
What is Sourdough Focaccia Bread?
Focaccia is an Italian bread, generally baked with good quality olive oil, fresh rosemary and salt. It is said to be similar to sourdough fougasse.
Its magic lies in its simplicity.
Traditionally it's made with yeast (and more yeast than regular bread). Baking it with lashings of olive oil mean that it has a crusty, golden bottom and top with a light, yet chewy crumb inside. It's quite springy and spongey.
Similar to pizza dough in many ways, focaccia is sometimes referred to as "pizza bianca" or white pizza because it doesn't have the toppings that a pizza does.
Sourdough bread made with sourdough starter has a deep sourdough flavor. It's fermented for a long time to develop the signature bubbles. Using a strong sourdough starter will give you the best chance at developing gorgeous bubbles as the dough ferments.
The time your focaccia bread takes will depend on the strength of your sourdough starter.
How To Make Sourdough Focaccia Bread
This beautifully simple recipe has very few hands on steps. It starts out as a wet, soupy mess, but through the power of fermentation, turns into a light, bubbly bread that will easily become your favorite!
You'll need a healthy, active sourdough starter that has been fed and is at its peak. This will give you the best chance of getting those beautiful bubbles (seriously whatever you do, don't pop these).
Here's how to make bubbly sourdough focaccia bread:
- Weigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large bowl.Mix the water and starter together briefly.
- Then add flour and salt and mix whole lot together until it forms a sticky dough. You don't want any dry flour left at all. You can use a dough scraper or Danish dough whisk for this process.
- Cover your bowl with cling film and let it sit for around 1 hour.
- After the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre. You should feel the dough strengthen as you do this. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth or tight, just work around the bowl stretching and folding (around 10 - 15 times is perfect).
- Now you want to leave your dough to ferment. Cover it with plastic wrap and leave it alone to double.
- Once the dough has doubled you need to shape the dough. Shaping focaccia is super simple (and absolutely forgiving).
- Use a dough scraper to gently ease the dough into a lined baking tray or cast iron skillet. Rub your hands with a little olive oil and gently pull the dough out to fill the tray. Again it doesn't have to be perfect as it will naturally fill the tray as it proofs.
- Let your dough rise again (proof). Leave it until it's spread out and filled the tray. It will be puffy and pillowy ... you might even have some gorgeous bubbles popping up.
- Once the dough has filled the tray and is looking puffy and full of volume, you need to dimple the dough and add the toppings. Pour olive oil over the top of the dough and then push your finger tips into the dough to create dimples. You might see some bubbles pop up as you do this.
- Now sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary. Preheat the oven to 200C (392F).
- Bake for 30 minutes at 200C (392F) or until golden brown.
What Baking Pan To Use?
You can really bake sourdough focaccia bread in any pan that has a lip - even a baking tray is fine.
I have baked this bread many, many times and my favorite way to do it is in a cast iron pan with lashings of olive oil.
I first started baking this bread in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. It comes out perfectly fine - I just prefer it in cast iron. I think that the bottom crisps up a bit more.
If you are using a pan - whether cast iron, aluminium or other - just make sure that if you're not using parchment paper that you spread enough oil on the pan to prevent the focaccia bread from sticking.
Here are a few ideas of what to bake your focaccia bread in:
- Cast iron skillet or bread pan (the skillet I'm using is 39cm x 26cm (15 x 10 inches).
- Divide into two portions and bake in round cake tins lined with parchment paper (I do this with 20cm (8 inch) cake tins.
- Baking tray (either using olive oil or baking paper) - any medium sized tray is fine, the dough can stretch out to fit.
Troubleshooting Sourdough Focaccia Bread
While this recipe is seriously simple, there are still a few issues that can arise. Sometimes it's the most simple of recipes that can give us the most grief!
I thought I'd put together a few troubleshooting tips that you can use as a reference in case you run into issues while making this bread.
- Dough too wet & sticky - this is a high hydration dough. It will start off really sloppy but the dough should gain strength as you perform the stretch and folds. It should then gain strength and volume during bulk fermentation. Don't stress too much as this is a "free form" type of bread - you don't need it to hold its shape as it is baked in a pan.
You can see in the photo above what my dough looks like after autolyse (before I start stretching and folding) - it's a wet mess! But looks how smooth and strong it is after bulk fermentation! Have patience. - Type of flour - I recommend using bread flour for this recipe. If you need to use all purpose flour, reduce the amount of water by up to 50g because all purpose flour will not cope with higher hydration.
- Not bubbling - ideally you should get some nice big bubbles that form once the dough has been sitting in the pan for proofing. It does need to be placed in a warmer temp (ideally 24C - 28C).
- Dough sticky when dimpling - if the dough sticks to your fingers when you are dimpling it - you need more olive oil!! Seriously, there's no such thing as too much oil! It will give you a crispy outter and so much flavor!
How To Eat Sourdough Focaccia Bread
This sourdough focaccia bread recipe can be served and eaten in so many different ways.
Dressed simply with olive oil, rosemary and salt it can accompany just about anything. Tear it, slice it, toast it, dip it - it lends itself to any occasion.
It really can be a meal in itself (seriously ... just add wine lol). Oh and some of this whipped herb butter or this cultured butter!
Some of my favorite toppings for sourdough focaccia include:
- Make it like a pizza - add fresh tomato, red onion, olives, mini pepperoni or roll up some salami, shredded ham or bacon, lashings of mozzarella and a generous sprinkling of pizza herbs - YUM! Check out this sourdough pizza focaccia bread!
- Olives, rosemary and olive oil.
- Thinly sliced onion, olive oil and lots of salt.
- Stud the focaccia with red or green grapes cut in half, drizzle with olive oil.
- Drizzle with melted butter, dust it with cinnamon sugar and dip into melted chocolate (seriously it's sooooo addictive!) or try this sourdough cinnamon roll focaccia bread!
- Sprinkle your sourdough focaccia with homemade Everything Bagel seasoning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many people say to use your over fermented sourdough to make focaccia. You can do this - yes. Will it taste as good as an intentionally made focaccia bread? No. Using over fermented dough to make focaccia will result in a very sour, dense loaf - as opposed to an actual focaccia bread which is bubbly and light in texture and flavor.
It's best to dimple focaccia before you bake it. If you don't, you risk it puffing up too much in the oven and you will lose that bubbly, spongey texture.
You could, but it will take a long time to ferment and it will make the bread very sour. It's best to stick with 100g of sourdough starter - unless you're making it in a very hot environment.
Yes you can - I have chosen not to. If you do add olive oil into the dough, you will need to reduce the hydration as this will make it very wet and soupy. Honestly, drizzling it with olive oil is enough to get the full flavor through the bread.
Yes you can use sourdough discard. But if using discard, you'd need to a pinch of yeast.
Want More Recipes?
If you are loving this recipe for Sourdough Focaccia Bread, you might also enjoy these:
- Sourdough Fougasse Recipe
- Sourdough Pane Di Casa Recipe
- Sourdough Pinwheels with Ham and Cheese
- Rosemary & Parmesan Sourdough Bread Wreath
- Sourdough Olive Bread
Sourdough Focaccia Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital Scale
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
For the dough
- 100 g Sourdough starter active and bubbly
- 400 g Water can increase or decrease by 30g if desired
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 10 g Salt
For the topping
- 30 g Olive Oil
- 10 g Sea Salt
- 1 tablespoon Rosemary Leaves Fresh or dried
Instructions
- Mixing The DoughWeigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large bowl.Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add flour and salt and mix whole lot together until it forms a sticky dough. You don't want any dry flour left at all.You can use a dough scraper or Danish dough whisk for this process.
- Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour. It's ok if it's a little bit longer, it's not going to matter too much.
- Strengthening the DoughAfter the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre. You should feel the dough strengthen as you do this. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth or tight, just work around the bowl stretching and folding (around 10 - 15 times is perfect).
- Bulk Ferment:Now you want to leave your dough to ferment. Cover it with a tea towel or plastic wrap and leave it alone to double (see notes).Focaccia is super forgiving so it doesn't need to be perfectly doubled - near enough is fine.
- Shaping Focaccia:Once the dough has doubled you need to shape the dough. Shaping focaccia is super simple (and absolutely forgiving). See my notes in the post above for details on baking pans/dishes.Use a dough scraper to gently ease the dough out into your desired pan.
- Rub your hands with a little olive oil and gently pull the dough out to fill the tray. Again it doesn't have to be perfect as it will naturally fill the tray as it proofs.
- Second Rise:Let your dough rise again. Leave it until it's spread out and filled the tray. It will be puffy and pillowy ... you might even have some gorgeous bubbles popping up.
- Topping:Once the dough has filled the tray and is looking puffy and full of volume, you need to dimple the dough and add the toppings.Pour olive oil over the top of the dough and then push your finger tips into the dough to create dimples. You might see some bubbles as you do this.Now sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary.
- Baking Sourdough Focaccia:Preheat the oven to 200C (392F).Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
- Cast iron skillet or bread pan (the skillet I'm using is 39cm x 26cm (15 x 10 inches).
- Divide into two portions and bake in round cake tins lined with parchment paper (I do this with 20cm (8 inch) cake tins.
- Baking tray (either using olive oil or baking paper) - any medium sized tray is fine, the dough can stretch out to fit.
Nutrition
