Sourdough Discard Focaccia is ready in under 2 hours and is a must make recipe! It has a crisp crust and a delicious airy texture! Add your favorite toppings to this focaccia and enjoy it any day of the week!
I’ve been baking with sourdough for years, and this focaccia is one of my go-to recipes when I have extra discard in the fridge. It’s simple, reliable, and always turns out soft, flavorful, and perfectly golden, whether I’m making it for a quick side or serving it to guests.
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Jump to:
- What is Sourdough Discard?
- Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
- Ingredients Needed for Sourdough Discard Focaccia Bread
- How To Make Sourdough Discard Focaccia Bread
- Focaccia Bread Recipe Variations
- Top Tips
- Serving Suggestions for Quick Sourdough Focaccia
- How to Store Sourdough Discard Focaccia
- Sourdough Discard Focaccia Recipe FAQs
- More Sourdough Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
Focaccia is an Italian bread that is similar to pizza dough, kind of. It's classically topped with rosemary, a really good quality olive oil, and coarse salt. I make focaccia every holiday season and it is always the first thing gone. It's salty and full of really delicious olive oil, if you haven't made it before, I can't wait for you to try this one!
What is Sourdough Discard?
Sourdough discard is the part of your active sourdough starter that you are not feeding. When you are "feeding" your starter to make same day sourdough bread, you add equal parts flour, water, and starter to a mason jar (or other container) and let it rise. Not only is it great to make other recipes with, but it also reduces food waste, which is always a good idea.
You can't feed your entire starter, as it doubles and sometimes triples in size, and that's a lot of starter to have on hand! If you are new to sourdough, be sure to check out how to feed and maintain a sourdough starter post all about how to keep your sourdough starter happy.
With your sourdough discard, you can make lots of delicious, easy recipes! I love making sourdough desserts, but you can make sourdough onion rings and sourdough discard sandwich bread with your discard too! I made this graphic to show exactly where sourdough starter discard lives in your sourdough journey.
Why You’ll Love This Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
If you’ve got sourdough discard sitting in your fridge, this is hands-down one of the BEST ways to use it!
- This recipe is super easy. No complicated shaping or techniques.
- Perfect way to use up sourdough discard (no waste!)
- Soft, fluffy inside with that classic crispy, golden crust.
- Packed with delicious flavor without a long fermentation.
- Great for beginners and experienced sourdough bakers alike.
Ingredients Needed for Sourdough Discard Focaccia Bread
- Flour. You can use all purpose flour or bread flour in this recipe. When thinking of all purpose flour vs bread flour, in this recipe they are pretty interchangeable.
- Sourdough discard. This means that it should come right out of the refrigerator and has not been fed recently.
- Honey. Might seem strange to add honey to a bread recipe, but the honey feeds the yeast helping them get nice and strong to make the bread rise and give you those big bubbles we are looking for.
- Yeast. Active dry yeast can be found easily in the grocery store. The yeast is what is going to give us those big bubbles in the bread.
- Olive oil. Use good quality olive oil in this recipe. It will be coating the entire dough plus it will be added to the top of the dough.
Be sure to check out the printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Sourdough Discard Focaccia Bread
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, add the yeast, water, and honey. Mix it around a little and then let it sit for 2-3 minutes to activate the yeast.
Step 2: Add the flour, salt, sourdough discard, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bowl. Mix for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
Step 3: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm place.
Step 4: Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan of your choice. You can use a 9x13 inch pan, cast iron pan, or a baking pan. Pour the dough into the pan and let it rest for another 1 hour.
Lynn's Tip!
The dough will be soupy and wet, don't panic! That's ok! As it rises and then bakes it will turn into a delicious, airy bread. Avoid adding more flour to the mixing bowl.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. With wet hands, dimple the dough with your fingers. Pour the rest of the olive oil onto the dough and spread it around evenly. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 33-40 minutes or until it is golden brown.
Focaccia Bread Recipe Variations
- Rosemary and sea salt. This is the classic focaccia combination!
- Cherry tomatoes. Sliced cherry tomatoes or whole cherry tomatoes add a burst of sweetness that is so good!
- Olives. Whether green or black, sliced or whole, olives give the focaccia a briny and salty kick.
- Garlic. Cut up or roasted garlic cloves are so good on top of this focaccia recipe!
- Fresh herbs. Besides rosemary, you can also add basil, thyme, oregano, or parsley. Scatter the herbs over the dough before or after baking.
- Cheese. Add grated Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, or your favorite type of cheese to the top of the dough.
- Red pepper flakes. If you are like me and you like a spicy kick, sprinkle red pepper flakes over the focaccia before baking.
- Veggies. If you look up focaccia art online you'll see beautiful designs with cut up red peppers, chives, tomatoes, and whatever else your imagination can muster up!
- Spread pesto over your dough. You can use your favorite basil pesto or a pesto rosso for a salty, sweet twist.
Top Tips
- Bloom your yeast before adding it to the focaccia. If it does not get frothy and bubbly, toss it. That means the yeast is probably dead and won't help make the focaccia airy and bubbly.
- Use high quality ingredients. Especially the olive oil! Make sure to use extra virgin olive oil because the olive oil is really the highlight of the bread.
- Use course sea salt. Don't use table salt. You want the salt to be seen on top of the focaccia as well as taste it. Kosher sea salt is perfect in this recipe.
- Don't use water that is too hot! If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast. The water should be room temperature.
- Be patient when the dough is rising. If your kitchen is cold, it might take 2 hours for the dough to double in size. In the Summer, it might only take 45 minutes to 1 hour for it to double in size.
Serving Suggestions for Quick Sourdough Focaccia
- Serve it as is! Cut it up and dip it in a bowl of olive oil and vinegar. This is my favorite way to enjoy any type of bread!
- With salad. All salads love focaccia bread!
- With soup. Dip this sourdough discard focaccia in broccoli cauliflower soup or quinoa vegetable soup.
- On a charcuterie board. Cut up pieces of this focaccia and add it to your charcuterie board with your favorite meats and cheeses. It's great to spread brie on, so good!
- As a side for pasta. I always make focaccia when I make meat lover's lasagna or meat and veggie lasagna. It's perfect to soak up all of that sauce and cheese from the pasta.
How to Store Sourdough Discard Focaccia
To make the dough ahead of time, put the dough together, let it rise, and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Remove the dough and place it into the oiled pan. Let it come to room temperature and then let it sit for another hour until it doubles in size. Then bake it as normal.
Store your focaccia at room temperature in an airtight container or in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Keep it on your counter for 2-3 days.
You can also freeze your focaccia! Cut the focaccia into slices, wrap each piece tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Label the bag with the date. Frozen focaccia can last for up to 2-3 months.
Sourdough Discard Focaccia Recipe FAQs
Sure! Active sourdough starter will make this bread even more airy. Since we are not waiting the full 8-10 hours that the sourdough starter would require, you'll still need to add the yeast.
This helps pop the bubbles in the dough so it does not expand too large in the oven. Dimpling the dough also adds to the flavor and texture of the dough.
Definitely! Simply mix the ingredients by hand until it comes together in a wet, dough.
Yes! This sourdough discard focaccia recipe has a slight tang from the sourdough discard, but it does not take nearly as much time as a regular sourdough recipe would. Now don't get me wrong, I love a long fermented sourdough recipe, but sometimes you want a quick sourdough recipe.
Since we are using sourdough discard, we need to add yeast. The sourdough discard is not bubbly and active, so it doesn't have the active yeast that it would if it was just fed.
The commercial yeast does the hard work of making the focaccia rise.
Not quite. Since this recipe uses sourdough discard (which isn’t fully active) and typically has a shorter rise time, it doesn’t develop the same level of fermentation benefits as a traditional long-fermented sourdough focaccia.
Be generous with your oil, don’t be shy here! Coat your pan well with olive oil before adding the dough, and you can even drizzle a little extra on top. Sometimes I even like to add some avocado oil or vegetable oil to the bottom of the pan to ensure that it does not stick.
Yes! Letting the dough rise overnight in the fridge is a great option and can actually improve the flavor. Just cover it tightly and let it come to room temperature for about 30–60 minutes before baking the next day.
More Sourdough Recipes
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Discard Focaccia Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sourdough Discard
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 1 ½ cups Water Lukewarm
- 3 ½ cups Flour
- 2 teaspoon Salt Plus more for Sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- ⅓ cup Olive Oil Divided
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, yeast, and honey. Mix and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, add the flour, salt, sourdough discard, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix in the stand mixer with the hook attachment for 5 minutes. The dough will be very sticky, but that is what you want.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 1 hour.
- Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan. You can use a cast iron skillet, a 9x13 inch baking dish, or two 8x8 inch baking dishes.
- Turn the dough into the prepared baking dish. Stretch the dough out so it fits the baking dish. Let it rise for another 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven preheats, wet your hands. Dimple the focaccia with your fingers all over the dough. Add the remaining olive oil to the top of the focaccia and sprinkle with sea salt and any other toppings you would like.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the focaccia is golden brown and baked through.
Notes
- This dough is very wet and sticky. Try not to add more flour or the dough will become a little too tough.
- Store your focaccia at room temperature in an airtight container or in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Keep it on your counter for 2-3 days.
- Freeze the focaccia in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
- Try to use high quality ingredients in this recipe. An extra virgin olive oil should be used instead of a light olive oil. Don't use table salt either. You want a coarse sea salt in this recipe.
Joe says
Did this two hours ago and turned out really good. It only took 21 mi i my oven.
Tks and God bless.
Joe
Lynn Polito says
Yay! Thanks for making my recipe!