This sourdough focaccia is one of my all-time favorite recipes! I make it for my family all the time and it’s a must for every holiday table. It’s full of flavor, super simple to make (no kneading or fancy equipment needed!), and just takes a little patience and a few good ingredients. If you’ve got a sourdough starter, this is the kind of recipe you’ll want to keep on repeat.
Sourdough Focaccia
There are few things more satisfying than turning water, flour, and salt into a delicious loaf of bread. Add olive oil and a little honey and you have fluffy focaccia to add to your charcuterie board, dipped in good quality balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, or dip in your soups.
Sourdough can be very intimidating, but if you have a little patience and some good quality ingredients, you can make some amazing bakes! With a little patience and minimal effort, you can have the most delicious sourdough focaccia!
This recipe is based on a recipe I found in Emilie Raffa's sourdough cookbook. After making that recipe a bunch of times, I was able to tweak it and make it even easier to make!
Make sure to check out these other delicious sourdough recipes as well!
What is Sourdough Focaccia?
This sourdough focaccia recipe is a bread that is similar to pizza dough. It is light, fluffy, and rises much more than a pizza dough when baked.
Focaccia can be made into any shape you would like and topped with many different toppings. For this recipe, I made this focaccia into a circle so it resembles a pizza, but if you have a rectangle pan, rectangle focaccia is very traditional as well.
The long rise of the bulk fermentation gives this sourdough focaccia bread that classic sourdough tang. The chewy crumb of this focaccia is addicting and perfect to use as a sandwich bread!
This recipe uses your sourdough starter instead of traditional yeast. The sourdough starter has wild yeast instead of the commercial yeast that would be found in the packets at the grocery store.
Ingredients
- Active Sourdough Starter- If you are new to sourdough, make sure to check out how to keep a sourdough starter. It will walk you through baking and keeping a healthy starter. For this recipe, we want a bubbly, active starter meaning it has just been fed with fresh water and fresh flour. You can make your own sourdough starter from scratch, buy one, or get one from a fellow sourdough friend.
- All Purpose Flour- Or bread flour can be substituted.
- Salt- For flavor and to help the yeast in the sourdough starter stay healthy.
- Honey- To feed the yeast in the sourdough starter.
- Water- Room temperature.
See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Sourdough Focaccia
In the evening, mix together the sourdough starter, honey, and water in a large bowl until they are well mixed. Add the flour and to the bowl and mix well. The focaccia dough is a very shaggy dough and be very sticky.
You can do this part in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook if you don't want to mix it by hand. The dough is ready to rise when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a damp towel. This will prevent a crust from forming on the top of the dough as it sits. Let the dough rise for 12-18 hours or until it doubles in size.
The next day, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan or cast iron skillet that you will be using to bake the focaccia. Spread the olive oil all over the pan to coat the bottom. Place the risen dough on the pan and flip it over so it is coated in olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rise again for 2 hours, or until very bubbly.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Once the dough has risen for the last time, stretch the dough by using your fingertips to dimple the dough and stretch.
This is a very wet dough. It might be tempting to add more flour, but you want this dough very puffy and wet.
The dough will likely not reach the edges of the pan and that is ok. Top with more olive oil and coarse sea salt. If you are adding any other toppings, nestle them into the dough at this time.
How long to bake sourdough focaccia?
Bake sourdough focaccia for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are crispy and the top is golden brown. Take the focaccia bread recipe out of the pan and cut with a large knife. Serve immediately.
Sample Baking Schedule
- Bulk Fermentation- Saturday 8pm- Mix together the ingredients and let the dough rise for up to 18 hours until very bubbly.
- Second Rise- Sunday 2pm- Add the dough to the pan and coat in olive oil. Let it rise again for 2 hours.
- Bake- Sunday 4pm- Top the focaccia with your favorite toppings and bake.
- Serve- Sunday 5pm- Serve.
How To Store Sourdough Focaccia
Once the focaccia is cooled, place any leftovers in an airtight container. When you are ready to enjoy the leftovers, simply place the focaccia on an oven safe pan for 5-10 minutes to heat through and crisp up the focaccia.
Do not place the focaccia in the refrigerator. Refrigerating it will cause it to go stale quickly or to mold.
Focaccia can hang out on the counter for up to 3 days in an airtight container or sealed Ziploc bag.
How to freeze focaccia sourdough
Sourdough focaccia freezes beautifully! To freeze it, make sure it is cooled completely and then wrap it in plastic wrap. Place in a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, place the focaccia on the counter until it comes to room temperature.
Focaccia Bread Sourdough Tips
- Don't hold back on the olive oil! It might seem like a lot of olive oil, but you need plenty of olive oil to get that classic focaccia crisp.
- You can use a pizza pan, a 9x13 inch baking sheet pan or cake pan, or a rimmed sheet pan for this recipe. Make sure that whatever pan you use has a rim so the olive oil does not drip off into the oven and so the olive oil stays with the focaccia.
- Cover with a damp towel. A dry towel will form a crust on the top of your dough, which you don't want. The towel doesn't have to be soaking wet, just slightly dampened.
What To Top Focaccia With
- Olives- Black or green olives
- Garlic- remove the papery skin of the garlic and push the garlic into the dough before baking.
- Fresh Rosemary- A classic ingredient to top the focaccia with!
- Fresh Herbs- Top with parsley, thyme, basil, or tarragon!
- Sun dried tomatoes- Press the tomatoes into the dough and sprinkle with olive oil. The tomatoes will burn if they are too exposed to the heat.
- Cherry tomatoes- Nestle the cherry tomatoes into the dough before baking.
- Vegetables- There are so many beautiful focaccia pieces of art that have Gardenscapes on them. If you are creative, this is a great place to show that!
- Cheese- Parmesan, mozzarella, Romano, or even cheddar!
- Seasoning- Everything bagel seasoning is a favorite but use your imagination there!
Focaccia Sourdough FAQs
You would need to use active sourdough starter for this recipe. Sourdough discard would not give you the rise that you need, since it isn't fed and the yeast is not fully "awake" yet.
Focaccia requires no kneading and has much more olive oil than a loaf of bread. The olive oil gives focaccia it's classic crisp on the crust.
Yes! You can allow the dough to fully rise and then add it to the olive oil coated baking dish. At this point, cover the focaccia with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. Not only will this hold the dough until you are ready to bake, it will also intensify the "sour" flavor commonly known with sourdough bread. The dough can sit in the refrigerator up to 24 hours.
For the best focaccia, I like to use bread flour or all purpose flour. Bread flour gives you that chewy texture and those big airy pockets thanks to its higher protein content. But if all you have is all-purpose flour, that works too! Your focaccia will be a little softer, but still delicious. Sometimes I even mix the two for the best of both worlds. For a little more nutty flavor, add a bit of whole wheat flour, but not too much, or your bread might turn out dense instead of fluffy
Other Recipes To Try!
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📖 Recipe
Focaccia Sourdough
Ingredients
- 75 grams Sourdough Starter Bubbly and Active (½ cup)
- 375 grams Water Room Temperature (1 ⅔ cups)
- 20 grams Honey (1 tbsp)
- 500 grams All Purpose Flour (4 ¼ cups)
- 12 grams Salt Plus more for topping (2 tsp)
- 60 grams Olive Oil Plus more for topping (¼ cup)
Instructions
- In the evening, mix together the sourdough starter, honey, and water. With a fork, mix until well combined.
- Add the flour and salt to the mixture. Mix well. The dough will look shaggy and sticky. Cover with a damp dish cloth and let it sit in a warm, draft free place for 12-18 hours or until the dough has doubled in size. The dough should look very bubbly.
- After the dough has fully risen, coat a pan with the olive oil. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it in the pan. Turn the dough over in the pan so it is coated in olive oil on both sides. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rise for another 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- With wet fingers, dimple the dough and gently stretch the dough. If it doesn't reach the edges of the pan, that's ok. Add toppings at this time, or just coarse salt.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the focaccia is golden brown and the edges are crispy.
Notes
- Top this focaccia with rosemary, sun dried tomatoes, olives, or capers. Push the toppings into the focaccia right before baking.
- After you have mixed the dough together, don't forget to replenish your starter to bake with again!
- Be generous with the olive oil. The olive oil gives this focaccia it's classic crunch and flavor.
- A baking scale will get you the most accurate measurements. If you do not have one, the approximate measurements are above.
Mandy Applegate says
I topped mine with olives, I hadn't tried sour dough focaccia before - it is SO good!
Donna says
So much flavor! This foccaccia is so delicious, and surprisingly easy to make!
Eileen Kelly says
The house still smells fabulous! The focaccia is better than any of my favorite Italian bakery. The recipe was so easy to follow and we just love the results.
Angela says
Delicious, I will definitely be making this for Easter.
Rupali says
I feel intimidated by the bread-making process, but this recipe is so refreshingly fuss-free and so comforting, it is going to be a regular side for many dinners.
Sherry says
I love, love, love focaccia but I've never made a sour dough recipe version. I had to try your sourdough focaccia recipe and it did not disappoint. So easy to make and the taste of the bread was AMAZING!!
Susannah says
This bread did not last long in our house!
Jennifer says
This was so good, and you're right, easy! The smell of it baking was almost more than I could stand and we gobbled it up right out of the oven!
Linda says
Can't wait to make this recipe again! I mean look at that pillowy bread.
Rachel says
Thanks for sharing this easy recipe. I love simple bread recipes and this one turned out delicious. I have it ear marked for my next pasta night.
Patrice says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. This one is much easier.