The Easiest Sourdough Focaccia

This simple Sourdough Focaccia bread is full of flavor and so easy to make! No kneading, and no fancy equipment, all you need is a little patience and a few high-quality ingredients! A great way to use your sourdough starter, this focaccia will be a new staple in your kitchen!

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!

• Sourdough Bread Recipe
• Sourdough Pretzel Bites
• Crusty Sourdough Dinner Rolls

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.

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.

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.

Tips and Tricks

• 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!

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Recipes To Try!

Did you love this Sourdough Focaccia? I'd so appreciate it if you would give this recipe a 5-star review! That will help other hungry readers find my recipes!

• More Sourdough Bread Recipes