Sourdough Dill Pickle Cheddar Focaccia Bread

Sourdough dill pickle focaccia bread - recipe feature image.

Sourdough Dill Pickle Cheddar Focaccia Bread

This tangy, cheesy sourdough focaccia is topped with sharp cheddar and briny dill pickles for a bold twist on a classic favorite. The golden crust pairs perfectly with the savory toppings, making it an irresistible snack or side.

Course Bread

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Discard

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Fermentation Time 10

Total Time 11

Servings Loaf

Calories 2998kcal

Equipment

Mixing Bowl
Digital Scale
Baking Tray (see notes for sizing)

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
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)

Instructions

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 (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 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 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.
Baking Sourdough Focaccia:
Preheat the oven to 200C (390F).
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

What baking pan to use? Here are some ideas of what you can bake sourdough focaccia bread in:

Cast iron skillet or bread pan (my dough fits in a skillet measuring 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.
2 enamel trays measuring 9" x 11" (23cm x 28cm) and this recipe fitted perfectly when divided in two.

Hydration - this is a wet dough but it should strengthen as you perform stretches and folds. If you're worried, take the hydration down a bit the first time you make it - you can always add more water, but you can't take it away.

Nutrition