Name: Sourdough Dill Pickle Cheddar Focaccia Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 660 min
Ingredients: 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; 30 g Olive Oil; 10 g Sea Salt; 125 G Dill Pickles ((Sliced or diced, depending on your preference)); 200 g Cheddar Cheese ((Shredded or cubed - I've used sharp white)); 20 g Pickle Juice; Dill Weed ((I've used fresh for garnish))

If you're a fan of bold, savory flavors and the irresistible texture of focaccia, this sourdough dill pickle cheddar focaccia loaf is about to become your new favorite bake. It’s the perfect fusion of tangy pickles, sharp cheddar, and the deep, complex flavor of sourdough all baked into a golden, bubbly loaf with a crisp crust and airy, chewy crumb.

Whether you’re serving it alongside soup, slicing it for sandwiches, or enjoying it straight from the pan, this sourdough dill pickle focaccia is a delicious twist on the classic that’s anything but ordinary.

To create this recipe, I took inspiration from two of my favorite sourdough recipes - my ever popular sourdough focaccia recipe and my dill pickle rye sourdough bread. By fusing these recipes together and adding a sprinkling of cheddar, I created this delicious sourdough dill pickle cheddar focaccia bread! I hope you love it as much as I do!

A red borded cream enamel baking dish filled with sourdough dill pickle cheddar focaccia bread.

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

Dill Pickles and Cheese - seriously, is there another reason to love this dill pickle and cheddar sourdough focaccia bread? It's like the ultimate ploughman's platter in bread form!

Versatile and Crowd-Pleasing – Serve it as a side for soups and stews, slice it up for epic sandwiches, or bring it to your next gathering—it’s the kind of bread that gets people talking (and asking for the recipe).

A jar of dill pickles with a slice of sourdough dill pickle focaccia sitting on top of the jar. There is an enamel tray of focaccia bread sitting in front of the jar. — We had so many cucumbers in the vegetable patch last year, I made my own dill pickles! We had so many jars and I ended up using them to test this recipe.

Ingredients

Sourdough starter - you'll need an active and bubbly sourdough starter that's been recently fed. Your sourdough starter should be at peak when you add it to the flour, water and salt to create the focaccia dough for this recipe.
Water - you can increase or decrease the amount given in the recipe card by 30g if desired, depending on your skill level, as well as the weather conditions at the time you're making this recipe. Sourdough focaccia can be quite wet, so holding some water back can be a good idea.
Bread Flour - I love using bread flour to make sourdough focaccia bread, with the extra protein content creating a strong gluten network.
Salt - I've used salt in the actual focaccia dough, as well as a little extra salt to garnish this bread (it's true, I love salt). If you're not a fan of all things salty, just leave the salty garnish off as the pickles are quite salty already).
Olive Oil - one of things I love most about sourdough focaccia bread is the olive oil! Use the best quality olive oil you can afford for this recipe.
Dill Pickles - I've used briny homemade cucumber dill pickles straight from the jar. You can use any type of dill pickles you like to eat - whether they're homemade or store bought, sliced or diced - the choice is entirely yours! You'll see both homemade and store bought pickles in the photos on this page as I tested the recipes with both.
Sharp White Cheddar Cheese - you'll see in the photos that I've cut my cheese into small cubes. You can use cubes or shredded cheese. I love sharp white cheddar cheese but use whatever cheese you like to eat. I tested this recipe with two different types of cheese so you'll see two different types of cheese photographed.
Dill Weed - I've picked fresh dill weed from the garden for this recipe. You can leave it out if you don't like too strong a flavor or you can also use some of the dill weed from your jar of pickles too.

How to Make Sourdough Dill Pickle Cheddar Focaccia Bread

Just like regular sourdough focaccia bread, this dill pickle cheddar version is really easy to make!

Mixing The Dough

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 or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour.

Strengthening the Dough

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).

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. Focaccia is super forgiving so it doesn't need to be perfectly doubled - near enough is fine.

Shaping Dill Pickle Cheddar Sourdough Focaccia

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 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.

A series of 4 photos that show sourdough focaccia bread being tipped into a cast iron bread pan lined with parchment paper.

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. Don't be tempted to pop these! Leave them alone!

Topping - The Fun Part!

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 and a little pickle juice over the top of the dough and then push your finger tips into the dough to create dimples. You might see some bubbles appear as you do this.

Now layer over the dill pickles, dill weed and sharp cheddar cheese and use your finger tips to push these into the dough. You can make them as incorporated as you want to (I like mine mushed into the dough a bit). Garnish with salt if you would like, or leave out if you wish.

Leave the sourdough focaccia for around 30 minutes for the toppings to marinate a little and the dough to proof around them while you preheat the oven.

A series of 4 photos showing how to add the dill pickles and cheddar topping to the sourdough focaccia bread and how to mush them in with your finger tips.

Baking Sourdough Focaccia

Preheat the oven to 200C (390F).Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. The baking time will also depend on the size of your chosen baking dish.

Baking Timeline

TIME	PROCESS
9 pm	Before going to bed, feed your sourdough starter 1:3:3 so that it's bubbly and at peak when you wake up.
7 am	Mix the sourdough focaccia dough together. Allow it sit for around an hour.
8 am	Perform stretch and folds (one set is fine in this instance).
8.10 am	Leave the dough covered at room temperature to bulk ferment.
3 pm	Shape sourdough focaccia dough into pan and cover for second rise.
6 pm	Add toppings and press them into dough using your finger tips. Allow dough to sit for around 30 minutes or so.
6.30 pm	Bake sourdough dill pickle cheddar foccacia bread until golden brown.
7.40 pm	Remove from oven, allow to cool a little ... enjoy!

You'll also find plenty of information on creating your own sourdough baking timeline here.

Flavor Twists

Now this sourdough dill pickle cheddar focaccia bread recipe is already a bit of a flavor twist, however there are still a few little suprises that I like to add to this one to make it even better, depending on who I'm serving it to! So here are a few of my "make it even better" suggestions!

Jalapeños - whether you choose to add fresh or pickled jalapeños, they will add a spicy twist to this delicious focaccia! You don't have to take anything away, just add them right on top!
Chives - swap out the dill weed for some freshly chopped chives. I like to add the fresh chives after baking for a fresh twist!
Smooth Feta - Add some dollops of smooth fetta among the cheddar and pickles to elevate this focaccia even further! I promise you won't be disappointed.