Simple Sourdough Focaccia: A Beginner’s Guide
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Sourdough is having a moment. Longtime sourdough bakers may cringe at this proclamation, just as our grandparents likely roll over in their graves when they hear “toast” is a thing.
But it’s true. I cannot open a magazine without seeing a feature on a bakery and its naturally leavened loaves; I cannot scroll through Instagram without seeing a crumb shot of a halved sourdough miche, a beautiful web of irregular holes, or an intricately scored, thick-crusted boule being presented like Simba to the animal kingdom.
My interest in sourdough in recent months has been spurred by a number of requests about how to make my mother’s peasant bread with a sourdough starter. Initially, I thought why? The beauty of the peasant bread is that it doesn’t require a starter or a long rise or any fussy techniques; it can be on your table start to finish in three hours. Everyone will rave.
Over the years, I’ve been able to answer questions relatively easily about how to make the peasant bread morph into something else: a boule with a thick crackling crust — thank you Jim Lahey — or a thinner round to use for pizza or something palatable for the gluten-free crowd.
But achieving that sour taste — even a subtle sour taste — is something yeast, even with a long slow rise cannot achieve. And, moreover, natural leavening is natural leavening — no yeast allowed.
So I began experimenting. I tried reviving my old starter, long neglected in my fridge, and when it proved altogether spent, I ordered one from Breadtopia. I followed the instructions to activate it, and within a day, I had a vibrant, bubbling starter.
After a bit of trial and error, I soon found a nice rhythm, mixing the dough in the afternoon, letting it rise all evening, splitting the dough into two portions and plopping each into a buttered Pyrex bowl in the morning. By early afternoon, the bread was ready to bake. The resulting loaves looked just like the peasant bread, golden crusted, soft crumbed, but with a nice subtle sourness. (Photo below.)
Using the sourdough peasant bread proportions, I decided to make focaccia, my favorite, a bread I love for so many reasons: its versatility — sandwich bread, appetizer, dinner bread — and its flavor and texture: the oil-crisped crust, the generous amount of salt, the chewy crumb.
I also think focaccia is an ideal bread with which to begin a sourdough journey. Why?
- First, it requires no special equipment — not a Dutch oven or a Baking Steel to create a thick crust; not two Pyrex bowls to create a golden, less-thick crust. You likely have a 9×13-inch pan somewhere in your kitchen. This is all you need.
- Second, it requires no tricky shaping technique on a floured work surface. Shaping free-standing sourdough boules is an art and it takes practice and repetition. It’s a beautiful thing when you get the hang of it, but it can be frustrating until you do.
- Third, it requires no scoring. With focaccia, you don’t need a razor sharp lame — you use your fingers to dimple the dough.
For those intimidated by sourdough bread baking, this recipe, as well as this simple sourdough bread recipe, are the recipes I suggest making first, both for their simplicity and flavor. Another great beginner’s bread recipe to try is this overnight, refrigerator focaccia, which requires minimal effort but yields spectacular results.
Curious about Sourdough? Let’s Start From the Top.
You need a sourdough starter, and you can make a sourdough starter from scratch in just about a week. I only recommend doing so if it currently is summer (or a very warm fall) where you are. While it is immensely satisfying to build a starter from scratch, there is no shame in buying one for a few reasons, namely: when you purchase a starter, you are guaranteed to have a strong, vigorous starter from the start.
I’ve purchased sourdough starters from King Arthur Flour and also from Breadtopia. Both were easy to feed and activate. Once your starter arrives, follow this guide on How to Activate, Feed, and Maintain A Sourdough Starter.
Four Reasons to Buy (or Procure) a Starter
- First, if you’re curious about sourdough, get to it! Making a starter from scratch takes weeks. I did it once many years ago following the instructions in Tartine Bread, and after nearly losing my mind, I literally jumped for joy when I dropped a spoonful of my starter into a cup of water, and it floated. Making a starter from scratch is a really cool exercise, and it’s something to be proud of should you succeed (or not!), but why not start experimenting with an active sourdough starter while you build a starter from scratch on the side?
- Second, feeding a mature starter will help you understand how to build one from scratch. You’ll observe how a starter rises and falls, what happens when you feed it more regularly, what happens when you neglect it, how it smells at various stages, etc.
- Third, they’re relatively cheap (or free if you get one from a friend).
- Fourth, maybe you embark on a sourdough journey and decide it isn’t for you. Why go through the trouble of building a starter till you know you enjoy the process of sourdough baking?
Begin with an Easy Recipe
As noted above, I think focaccia is a perfect sourdough-bread-baking starting point. It will teach you the fundamentals of working with sourdough without the potentially frustrating steps of shaping, scoring, and baking with a Dutch oven. The recipe below also can be baked in a loaf pan, another great option if you do not want to deal with shaping and scoring and Dutch ovens.
PS: Whole Wheat(ish) Sourdough Bread recipe
PPS: Essential Equipment For Sourdough Bread Baking
How to Make Sourdough Focaccia: A Step-by-Step Guide
Get a starter. If you don’t have a starter and don’t have a friend who can lend you one, I recommend buying one. I bought mine from Breadtopia, and I’ve managed to keep it alive for 6 months now. Score!
I store my starter in this quart container. When I’m ready to use it, I discard some of it, and add about 45 g flour…
… and 45 g water. You don’t have to be exact, but when you’re getting started, I think it’s helpful to weigh both the water and flour. Depending on how long the starter has been in the fridge, it may need one or two feedings before use.
If you stick a rubber band around your starter vessel, you’ll know when …
… it has doubled and is ready for use.
If you need reassurance as to if it’s ready, you can do the float test: drop a spoonful of starter into a glass of water. If it floats, it’s ready.
As with all bread, when mixing sourdough doughs, it’s best to weigh everything with a digital scale. Start with 100 g starter.
Add 10 g kosher (or other) salt.
Add 440 g water. (See recipe notes: If you live in a humid environment, you may want to use less.)
Stir to combine.
Add 512 g bread flour.
Stir to form a sticky dough ball.
Cover with a towel or bowl cover, and let rise for 8 – 18 hours at room temperature (times will vary depending on the time of year and how warm your kitchen is … in the summer, this may take only 4 hours):
When it doubles …
… drizzle it with some olive oil.
Deflate the dough by pulling the sides into the center.
Dough, ready to make it’s second rise, which will take 5-6 hours. Love this USA Pan.
After 5-6 hours, the dough is ready to be dimpled and stretched and salted. Bake at 425ºF for 25 minutes.
Just-baked sourdough focaccia:
Simple Sourdough Focaccia
- Total Time: 24 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Description
Adapted from my favorite yeasted, slow-rise focaccia recipe — overnight refrigerator focaccia — this recipe replaces the yeast with a sourdough starter.
UPDATE: Video guidance is here! Watch up above or click the link below in the recipe card.
What you need to make this recipe…:
- …a sourdough starter. I bought mine from Breadtopia. It was easy to activate. There are no instructions on the package itself; follow the instructions on the video here.
- …time. Once your starter is ready to go, this recipe requires an initial 4- 18 hour rise, followed by a second 4- to 6-hour second rise. After the initial rise (depending on the time of year and temperature of your kitchen), you can deflate the dough, and stick it in the fridge for 8 to 10 hours (maybe longer), which might help you regarding your schedule. Keep in mind, when you remove the dough from the fridge and transfer it to a pan, it will still need to rise for another 5- to 6- hours.
- …water. Apparently, chlorine in water can adversely affect sourdough. Leaving water at room temperature for 24 hours will allow most of the chlorine to escape.When I am in the habit of making sourdough bread, I fill a large pitcher with water and leave it out at room temperature. I use this for my sourdough breads and starter. Truth be told, I’ve used water straight from the tap and have not noticed a difference.
Water quantity: Depending on where you live and the time of year, you may need to cut the water back. If you live in a humid environment, for instance, I would suggest starting with 430 g water. If you are not using bread flour, you also may need to cut the water back a bit.
Timing:
The more I make sourdough, the more I realize so much depends on the time of year and the temperature of my kitchen. In the summer, because it is so warm, the first rise (bulk fermentation) takes between 4 – 6 hours; in the winter the first rise takes 12 – 18 hours.
The key with this recipe is to make sure the first rise doesn’t go too long — you want the dough to nearly double. A straight sided vessel (as opposed to a bowl) makes gauging the first rise easier. (Note: If your dough rises above double, don’t despair … recently my dough tripled in volume during an overnight rise, and the resulting focaccia was still delicious, light, airy, etc.)
A few thoughts: If you are making this focaccia in the summer (northern hemisphere), use 50 g of starter and check the dough every couple of hours. If you are making this in the winter, use 100 g of starter, and plan for a long first rise.
Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes.
Flour choice:
- I’ve been using King Arthur Flour’s special patent flour — bought a 50-lb. bag of it at Restaurant Depot. Its protein content, 12.7%, is the same as the protein content of its bread flour. I also have used all-purpose flour (11.7%) with success, but I recommend bread flour, which seems to be more reliable for people especially those living in humid climates. If you only have ap flour on hand, you may consider reducing the water a bit — bread flour absorbs slightly more liquid than all-purpose flour.
Ingredients
- 50 g – 100 g (1/4 to 1/2 cup) active starter, see notes above
- 10 g (about 2.5 teaspoons) kosher salt
- 430 – 440 g water (1.75 cups – 1.75 cups + 2 tablespoons), room temperature, see notes above*
- 512 g (about 4 cups) bread flour, see notes above
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
- Nice, flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Instructions
- Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated.
- If time permits, perform one “fold”: 30 minutes after you mix the dough, reach into the bowl and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the bowl quarter turns and continue this pulling 8 to 10 times. See video for guidance.
- Drizzle with a splash of olive oil and rub to coat. Cover bowl with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen — in summer, for instance, my sourdoughs double in 6 hours; in winter, they double in 18 hours. Do not use an oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it will be too warm. It is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time to determine when the bulk fermentation is done. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.).
- When dough has doubled, place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch pan. (I have been using this USA Pan, which I love. I have had no sticking issues. If you are using a glass pan, you may, as a precaution, want to butter it it first — I have had disasters with bread sticking when I’ve used oil alone with other baking vessels.)
- Drizzle dough with a tablespoon of olive oil. Use your hand to gently deflate the dough and release it from the sides of the bowl. Gently scoop the dough into the center of the pool of oil in your prepared pan. Fold dough envelope style from top to bottom and side to side to create a rough rectangle. Turn dough over so seam-side is down. Video guidance here.
- Rub top of dough with oil. Leave alone for 4 to 6 hours, uncovered, or until puffy and nearly doubled.
- Heat oven to 425ºF. Rub hands lightly with oil, and using all ten fingers, press gently into the dough to dimple and stretch the dough to nearly fit the pan. Sprinkle generously with sea salt. Transfer pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden all around. Remove pan from oven and transfer bread to a cooling rack. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Incidentally, this same recipe can be used to make sandwich bread. You need one large loaf pan, 10×5-inches, such as this one.
As noted above, this same recipe can be baked, like the original peasant bread recipe, in buttered Pyrex bowls. More on this soon.
Just-baked sourdough peasant bread.
Sliced sourdough peasant bread.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
1,250 Comments on “Simple Sourdough Focaccia: A Beginner’s Guide”
Hi, I love this recipe. It’s always a win. I encountered a problem though the last time I made this. At the first proofing, my dough had a light dry crust on it, could it be from over proofing?
Hi Fatima, yes, it’s possible it over-proofed. Roughly how many hours did it proof for? And at what temperature?
Sometimes I get that too and I think it’s because it dries out a bit. Either my dough was a little drier than normal or I didn’t wet the towel enough. I just fold it back in before the 2nd rise and it bakes and tastes great.
This was the best thing i’ve ever made! The recipe was very easy to follow, thanks 🙂
Great to hear, Maia! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
This recipe was a GAME CHANGER for me. THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this. You have made me fall in love with baking sourdough focaccia.
Wonderful to hear this, Shannon! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
The dough seemed right when I left it to do its bulk rise, but when I transferred it to the 9×13 it was very runny! What happened? Did I let it rise too long?
Is there any way to remedy this? Should I add more flour?
Thanks.
It sounds as though it overfermented… was the dough completely without structure?
It had a little structure at the top of the bowl but underneath was completely loose.
Yeah, it likely over fermented. Next time, shorten the bulk fermentation. If you have a clear, straight sided vessel, it will help you better monitor the bulk fermentation.
I am new at sourdough baking. I tried this recipe and it came out perfect 👍Super easy for sourdough. I will definitely bake this again. Maybe add some different toppings. Thank you 🙏
Great to hear, CeCe! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂 You’ll have fun experimenting with different toppings.
I’ve made this twice and cannot get it to work. I’m in Hawaii and with the humidity and heat things rise really easy but twice now the second rise hasn’t happened in 6 hrs and I bake a flat oily gummy pan of dough.
Hi! A few thoughts: you are potentially overfermenting your dough — if the second rise doesn’t happen, it likely means the dough ran out of steam. I would consider reducing the water considerably given you are in Hawaii. And I would shorten the bulk fermentation. How many hours roughly are you letting it go? I would also be sure to use a straight-sided vessel for the bulk fermentation, and end the bulk fermentation when the dough increases in volume by 50%.
I loved this recipe! I love making focaccia in general and this recipe was so easy to finally attempt a sourdough focaccia. I noticed your focaccia in the photos had a nice open crumb. Any tips to achieve one? My loaf was nice and fluffy but I wanted a more open crumb. I live in a humid environment so the proofing I would say was a little less than 4 hours until doubled. Would I go longer for a better crumb? Or would you suggest more folding in the beginning to create that gluten?
Hi Renee! I might consider holding back some of the water. Was the dough on the wet/loose side? Definitely try a few more stretches and folds, but given your humid environment, I would consider holding back 50-75 grams of water — you can always add a little more back in if the dough feels stiff.
Is it possible to refrigerate the dough after the second rise and then bake the next day?
Yes! Deflate it, ball it up, and transfer to the fridge. Be sure whatever vessel you are storing it in is wrapped well with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
I have been baking bread for about 5 years. I bake mostly sourdough and have followed baking sites that require 2-4 days and timely monitoring and temping bread. But because of the complexity and time needed, I find I bake less often. Since discovering your site I am highly motivated and have turned out some amazing bread! I baked this Sourdough Focaccia and it turned out perfect! The crust was crackling from the olive oil and the interior had the perfect chew and flavor. You make it so easy to turn out a beautiful bread, Thank you!
Awwww Char 🙂 🙂 🙂 This means the world to read. Thank you so much for taking the time to write. So happy to hear about your bread successes!
This is the best bread! I get rave reviews when I bring this bread places. It also freezes well – I pop it in the broiler once defrosted (I broil the bottom, then flip it over and broil the top) and it is pretty close to when it is fresh out of the oven!
Oh wow! What a great tip! Love the broiling idea. Thanks so much for writing. Great to hear all of this.
I didn’t have time and it was way over proofed but it still turned out great.
Great to hear, Laura!
My favorite sourdough focaccia recipe! It has come out perfect every time I’ve made it. Very simple and forgiving and always gets rave reviews.
So great to hear this, Olivia 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
Thank you Alexandra! I LOVE this recipe! Made it so many times and started experimenting with slower fermentation and adding herbs, etc. It is simply phenomenal!
Great to hear, Julieta! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’m about to try your sourdough focaccia recipe and I’m wondering what you consider humid. I lived in Florida years ago so I consider that humid but now I live in Portland, OR and today the humidity reading was 53%.
Oh gosh, so hard to say, I don’t know exact numbers, unfortunately. That said, my mother lives in Guilford, CT, where the humidity is often 75% and she often has to hold back a bit of the water. I think you could try the recipe as written OR you could hold back 50-75 grams of the water; then add it back if the dough feels too stiff. I would reference the video for texture.
I came across this recipe and wanted to give it a try. It looked so good in the pictures plus I already had my own sourdough starter. I’ve made it twice and we all love it. I sprinkle it with salt and rosemary. It pairs great with a nice soup in the winter.
So nice to hear tghis, Kattia! I love focaccia with soup as well… nothing better this time of year 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi!
Would it be preferable to refrigerate after the first rise or let the first rise take place in Refridgerator ?
Lisa
Either! At some point the dough needs to be at room temperature to make the bulk fermentation (i.e. grow in volume), but when you refrigerate the dough — before or after — doesn’t matter. I typically will let the dough rise at room temp, deflate it, ball it up; then transfer to the fridge if necessary. Hope that helps!
Hi! I am new to sourdough starter baking and saw how easy this looked, but I didn’t really have mine turn out like it should. I measured the ingredients with a scale, and since it is winter in Michigan I used a little more water for the dry cold air. I let it rise for 18 hours but it didn’t double. I then added it to the pan and let it sit for 5 hours and it didn’t double again. Not sure what went wrong. My starter passed the float test as well. The end result tasted good but just didn’t rise like it should. Any suggestions?
Can you tell me about your starter? Is it homemade? The float test isn’t the only measure of a good, vibrant starter. After you fed your starter, how many hours did it take for it to double or triple in volume?
I literally make this recipe just so I get to poke holes in the dough! Everything else is just icing on top! I’ve made this recipe about 7 times, and it’s a little different every time. I’ve found that so much of it depends on air temperature and knowing your starter. If I get impatient and try to rush this recipe, it doesn’t turn out as well. We eat this with pizza sauce every time I make a batch of sauce
Dimpling the dough is complete therapy 🙂 🙂 🙂 So nice to hear all of this, Luke. And yes, I couldn’t agree more about the air temperature and the starter, and it’s so important to rely on visual cues as opposed to timing with this recipe and all sourdough (and other) bread recipes. Yes to pizza sauce on the side!!
This is a very simple yet tasty focaccia bread recipe. Sourdough added a nice depth of flavor.
Great to hear this, Judy! Thanks so much for writing.
Can I make this today, put in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning? If yes, as what stage can I put in the fridge and for how long? Before olive oiling the top and adding toppings? I am hoping to make today and bake in the morning.
Hi Jane, you can put the dough in the fridge at any point: after you mix it or after the bulk fermentation. That said, if you stick the dough in the fridge after you mix it, you’ll need to give it some time at room temperature for it to rise and increase in volume. If you refrigerate it after the bulk fermentation, you’ll also need to give it time (4-5 hours) at room temperature to proof. Hope that makes sense. Let me know if you have any other questions!
My challenge with this recipe was that it would not brown! Any advice?
Hi Sandy! What kind of flour are you using? Does your oven run cool? Did you use enough olive oil on top?
Thanks for the quick reply! I used organic all purpose flour. The oven temp is accurate. I think I used enough oil. I regularly make sourdough bread in a cast iron dutch oven and it comes out beautifully browned so I don’t think the oil can be the problem unless it is causing the problem? I’m going to try again soon. Thanks again.
OK, interesting, well good luck with the next time around. I would take a peek after 10 minutes next time, and crank up the oven 50 degrees or so if it’s not browning in a timely manner.
Success! I saw your advice to others about reducing water in a humid environment so I used 375 grams of water instead of 430 and it had a better rise and it browned up nicely.
Oh yay! Wonderful to hear this Sandy! Thanks so much for reporting back and sharing your notes.
I’ve made this a half dozen times and, simply put, it’s freakin yummy! I want to make it again tonight but my starter isn’t floating yet—if I use hungry starter will my focaccia still rise and just be extra tangy? Or should I use a pinch of instant yeast too in this case? Thanks !
Hi Jesse! I’m likely too late here … so sorry.
I do always recommend using starter at its peak, but when a starter is not at its peak, it can still turn out well — the bulk fermentation might just take much, much longer. A pinch of instant yeast is a great idea! What did you end up doing?
Happy New Year!
See question below, but I have to comment… I love this recipe. Like so many folks, I started sourdough in 2020. Fortunately, I came across this recipe which is beyond fantastic. Then we moved & I let my starter go. For some reason I couldn’t replicate it & finally took Ali’s advice & bought a Breadtopia starter. Within a day (I had been trying to create a homemade starter for WEEKS), I had another loaf of Ali’s amazing Simple Sourdough Focaccia.
I have been trying to add sundried tomatoes to flavor the focaccia, but the tomatoes always burn on the top of the bread so today, I added tomatoes, olives & parmesan on top of the dough JUST BEFORE the envelope folds. That enclosed the yumminess in the focaccia & prevented burning. After folding & flipping, I topped it with Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel seasoning. Delicious!
But now, I have a question–how do you keep focaccia or other breads fresh? Ziplocks tend to keep in too much moisture. Do you recommend a bread box? Use a linen bag? It’s just the 2 of us, so it takes us some days to get thru a whole loaf! Thank you!
Hello! And thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes on how you incorporated all of those yummy ingredients… so helpful for others. I’ve been meaning to make a video on how to do this because people ask all the time.
Regarding your question, I actually always use a ziplock bag. It does make the crust soft, but it keeps the crumb the softest/tenderest for the longest. I always always always reheat day- or days-old bread — we have a toaster oven, which is great for reheating focaccia, but the regular oven will work if you don’t have a toaster oven: 350ºF for 15 minutes or so will revive the crust beautifully. Hope that helps!
Thank you for replying. Breadboxes are pretty pricey so it helps to know a bread expert uses Ziplocks & how you reheat.
My husband claims this is the best bread he has ever eaten! Your sourdough recipes have all been so helpful in navigating how to use my starter. Thank you!
So nice to hear this, Jessicca 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing. Happy New Year to you and your husband.
If someone is comfortable working with either yeast or sourdough but new to focaccia, which of your focaccia recipes do you prefer/recommend starting with? They both look so beautiful I can’t decide which one to try first. I’ve made many of your other recipes and they’ve all been lovely. I really appreciate your site!! Thanks!
Hi Karen! If you’re comfortable with sourdough, then try the sourdough one! It’s truly one of my all-time favorite recipes, and as far as sourdough goes, it’s about as easy as it gets. Thank you for your kind words. Means a lot!
This was the BEST focaccia I’ve ever eaten!! I can’t wait to make it again and again!!! Thank you so much! The video especially made it helpful!
Great to hear, Emily! This might be my favorite bread of all time. Thanks for writing!
This is the first time I bake and eat Focaccia. It turned out amazing. Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I bulk fermented for 4 hours than put it in the fridge for 18 hours because i had to go out than put it in the pan for 4 hours than baked it. We loved it soooooo much . Just I did i little mistake, I did not let the oven to preheat well, the top color was not gold and the buttom was ready so I turned the fire on from the top.
Great to hear this, Amina! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes!
Oh my gosh, fabulous recipe, thank you so so much! I added a few fun topping on it and out of the oven came a masterpiece. Right away I had to freeze 1/2 of it because with only 2 of us in the house I knew we’d eat the entire thing in one sitting if I didn’t. My new go to focaccia recipe. And yes, poking your fingers in the dough is sooooo satisfying!
So great to hear this, Cheryl 🙂 🙂 🙂 And I hear you: this never lasts long for us either. Freezing is smart 🤣
This is a 5 star recipe! Thanks for posting.
Great to hear, Laurie! Thanks for writing!
This recipe is so delicious and very forgiving! I let it bulk rise for 8 hours, then I put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning I let it sit out for about 2 hours before putting it in the pan and letting it proof for about 4 hours. Then I sprinkled fleur de sel over the top and put pesto on half of it before baking. It came out so airy and delicious even though I never had time to “fold” it during the bulk rise. I’m sixteen and still pretty new to sourdough baking, but I love how all your recipes are step by step and have pictures for each step:)
So nice to hear all of this, Claire! I am so impressed that at age 16 you are baking sourdough bread. Bravo!! Thanks so much for writing and thank you for your kind words 🙂 🙂 🙂
Ali, you are my goddess for bread making. I’m new to sourdough but I have made focaccias and other breads based on your recipes with yeast. I wish I can post a photo for you. A slice of this sourdough focaccia looks like ciabatta – the holes! Chewy crust, light airy interior. I worry about overproofing. I’m still learning how my starter behaves. While I’m aware that the rise times are a guide, it would seem I need more time when my kitchen is a cool 58-59 degrees. Yet, it seems my dough ignores this. In a 60 degree room, this focaccia was ready to bake in 4-1/2 hours – I did a poke test; it did not swell back for the next 5 minutes. It is helpful that you describe and show how a dough should “look” at each phase. Good instructional details.
So nice to hear all of this, Wendy! Great to hear about the hole structure you are getting as well as the texture of the crust and crumb. So fun! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂