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.
1,240 Comments on “Simple Sourdough Focaccia: A Beginner’s Guide”
Help! Lol first timer! I used a scale and did every step posted but this first ride is not rising?? Lol it’s been 13 hours and it’s no where near double, a little volume from last night sure but not a lot. I do live in Canada in winter right now so it’s cold but how long should I wait if it doesn’t rise to try again another time??
Oh no! Question: Did your starter pass the float test before you used it? Is it generally a pretty active starter?
It’s my first time doing a starter it’s on day 8 and really bubbly and stinky and passed the float test.
OK, well that’s a good sign. How is the dough looking now? And how many hours has it been? If you want to email me a picture, I might be able to better assess: alexandra@alexandracooks.com
Hello from Canada as well! I let mine to double for 24 hours! I don’t know how long it actually took but it wasn’t there when I went to bed and was perfect when I woke up. Hope that helps
Great to hear this, Sarah! Thanks 😍
Amazing recipe! After about 5 sourdough failures I was convinced I was just incapable of making bread but this was an actual success!
I thought I’d add to this thread because I had a similar issue, I left my dough out for about 12h and it only rose about 1/3 its original volume but I went ahead with the following steps anyway and it still produced a wonderful, tangy, chewy focaccia (albeit a little greasy – admittedly I did put a little too much oil in the pan in fear of it sticking…)
I suppose the bottom line is, don’t worry too much if it doesn’t quite double!
Thank you, will definitely make it over and over again!
So wonderful to hear this, Camilla! A little extra oil is never a bad thing 😍😍😍😍
Ratios of starter to flour to water are completely out of whack
Only they’re not.
Assuming you have a viable starter, if you make the recipe as presented, it will work.
Thank you, Santos 🙂
Oliver: did you make this or just commenting on the high ratio of water? It is a super high hydration dough, which is important to achieve that pillowy soft, focaccia texture. Happy to troubleshoot if you have questions.
Could be the flour I’m using but it’s just not even close – followed to the gram.
I am having a similar issue. It actually could be because of my starter, and knowing me as a new baker, thats probably what it is, not the actual recipe. It passes the float test and all but it may be too wet so I may need to correct it in the starter. I have my second attempt in the second proof phase right now and I can already see it’s too wet. So wet that it just doesn’t hold its shape at all. I’m using ap flour but I cut down the water to 390 and increased the flour to 527, and yet it still feels like it is way to wet.
Anum, hi! When you first mixed the dough, did it look similar to the texture of the dough in the video? How long did your first rise go? Is your kitchen on the warm side? Did you let it rise at room temperature?
I woke up my old sourdough starter that I had sitting in my fridge unfed for probably about a year. I started off just feeding it AP flour and though I saw a few bubbles, it wasn’t getting any more starter like, so I fed it some rye flour that I had on hand and kaboom! I stayed with half and half for a few days and this morning I fed it just AP and plan to make this starting tonight – wish me luck!
Wow, amazing, good luck! Keep me posted.
I left it on the counter overnight and it was perfectly doubled! I should have left it in the oven longer, I was trying to get it all done before the lunch break for my online class ended so it isn’t beautifully dark like yours and I used a glass pan and even with buttering it still stuck a bit. Still yummy, though!
Great to hear this, Lauren! Bummer about the little bit of sticking. Next time, you could try buttering even more generously OR you could use parchment paper to really ensure no sticking. Some pans are just more prone to sticking than others. Glad this was yummy!
Excited to make this! Thank you for sharing! When is the best time to add toppings like rosemary? At the same time as the salt?
Hi Lian! Yes, scatter the rosemary over top when you sprinkle the sea salt over top.
Came here for this question! I’m putting mine in the oven soon with salt and rosemary!
Wonderful! Hope it turned out well 🍞🍞🍞
I just wanted to weigh in and say this is my new go-to focaccia recipe! I’m fairly new to the sourdough world but love that most of the recipes I’ve tried thus far haven’t needed kneading in the way I’m used to with store-bought yeast. I did two rounds of folding at 30 min intervals and probably sped up rises slightly (compared to many here in comments saying they went overnight for gluten dev. etc.) and this still turned out pillowy, soft, with the most satisfyingly golden, crunchy bottom. Will up the amount of sea salt I sprinkle over the top next time, too.
I’m so happy to hear this, Christine! Thanks for writing. A little more sea salt is never a bad thing 😍😍😍🍞🍞🍞
Sorry it wouldn’t let me reply to the old thread so I’ll start a new one, I let my first rise go overnight in my oven with the oven light on to keep it warm, so it was about 12-13 hours. I would say that after mixing last night, the dough was slightly looser than what was shown in the video, but I felt that the changes I made were drastic enough already I didn’t want to alter much more. The actually wetness of the dough didn’t really show until I went to set it up for the second rise about an hour and a half ago.
Anum, I think the overnight in the oven is the issue. Every time I have tried to create a slightly warm or even just draft-free environment for the dough to rise, it doesn’t go well. Sourdough is much more fragile/finicky/less forgiving than yeast-leavened breads. I think your dough over fermented, which is why it is wetter/looser now than when you first mixed it.
If you are willing to give this another go, I would let it rise at room temperature on your countertop. 12-13 hours might be fine, but if your kitchen is at all warm, that might be a bit too long. Do you have a straight-sided vessel to monitor how the dough is growing?
I had the same issue as Anum – very slack and wet dough (followed instructions exactly) after an overnight in the oven and second rise mostly in the oven (taken out about 1.5-2 hours to continue rising at room temp). It wouldn’t hold its dimples and definitely doesn’t have a beautiful look after 26+ in the oven. The other factor may have been using mix of flours (100g of einkorn + remainder bread flour). The starter floated, doubled in size after first rise, everything else sounds similar. Finished product doesn’t look great but tastes pretty good (nice sourdough flavor, air pockets). Will definitely re-try when I have enough bread flour and will not use the oven for the overnight rise.
Hi Twinkle! Thanks for writing/sharing your experience. So helpful. Glad to hear you will try again at room temp. Please report back. Question: what temperature is your kitchen, roughly?
Hi! I let my dough sit overnight but it’s very wet, as in pourable!
I weighed everything out and my starter was nice and bubbly. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Hi Karina, it sounds as though it overfermented.
How warm is your kitchen? How many hours was the bulk fermentation? Are you using a straight-sided vessel? No worries if not, just wondering if you know if the dough doubled/tripled/or more in volume.
Yeah, I’ve been using a clear glass bowl to check the rise. My kitchen isn’t that warm, it’s still a bit cold where I live so I think overnight will be fine. Thanks for the help!
OK, great! My kitchen is cool, too (Upstate New York), and honestly, I think that’s actually beneficial for focaccia. Keep me posted.
Just as an update, tried my hand at the bread again today. Adjusted the water and flour levels a bit more and allowed it to proof in my kitchen overnight in the first rise and in the oven for the second. The bread turned out much better than my previous attempts. Thanks for the advice, it helped a bunch!
Wonderful to hear this, Anum!
I followed the measurements of the ingredients down to the gram with a food scale and still ended up with what was more like cake batter than a sticky bread ball. Any idea why?
Hi Jimmy! Questions: what type of flour are you using? Do you live in a humid environment? Did you go with the 430 g water or 440 g? And 50 or 100 g starter?
Hello! My dough isn’t rising, it has been proofing in the fridge for almost 18hrs already. What can I do to troubleshoot it? I measured the ingredients accurately and am in a humid environment. Thank you in advance!
My starter also passed the float test.
Hi Nissa! Question: did you do the bulk fermentation at room temperature, and then transfer to the fridge? When sourdough is in the fridge it does not change physically, so it makes sense that you are not seeing a rise. I’m just wondering what happened before. Can you share the steps you took after you mixed your dough?
Hello! So I messed up on something and I need to know how to fix. Everything was going swimmingly. Then I put it in the oiled 9×13 pan and let it double for several hours (hot and humid in Texas yesterday). Then I put it in fridge. (Wrong order, right?). So now what ?
Hi! It should be fine! Your dough shouldn’t change much visually in the fridge. I am likely too late here, and depending on what time zone you are in, it might be too late to bake tonight, but tomorrow, take it out of the fridge, let it rise at room temperature for 5-6 hours or until it is filling up the pan; then dimple and bake.
Let me know what you decided to do! Or if you have any more questions.
I did that. It was fine! Thx!!
Wonderful!
Really happy with the soft and chewy bread this recipe made. This was my first focaccia-making adventure and I’d say it was a success!
Wonderful to hear this Summer!
I made this last week with a starter that I was able to get from some friends of mine. The starter wasn’t doubling in size no matter what I did, and definitely did not pass the float test. But I was feeling bold, and went ahead with the recipe anyway as the starter at least had a few small bubbles. Additionally, I live in Canada, and last week the weather wasn’t great. My kitchen is a touch on the cold side except for my kitchen window which faces west and gets great evening sun. So I left the dough there to rise before poking holes to bake the bread. The dough ended up rising enough, and made such a lovely loaf of focaccia! I can’t speak to whether using the starter before it was ready would work for all, but with this recipe, it seemed to work for me! Thank you so much Alexandra!
I’m so happy to hear this, Erin! I think this will be encouraging news for anyone who is just ready to get after it. Thanks for sharing your experience 😍😍😍😍😍
Made this yesterday, and baked off today (held in frig overnight). I ended up with an over-hydrated dough; my flour might have affected hydration? I’ve resorted to using some unbleached flour I finally found at Target…ugh. So, due to over hydration, I couldn’t poke holes, but did do some cuts to make it interesting. I brushed it with garlic butter, parsley and salt, and baked in 3 pans so I have some to share with my kids.. I can’t eat everything I am quarantine baking! My only other issue was that all 3 pans stuck viciously. It was an exercise to get them out, but they taste DIVINE! Next time I will use greased parchment paper to avoid that. I was going to post a picture, but don’t see an option to do that…. And all because I couldn’t stand to throw out the old starter when I was done with Tuesday feeding!
Amy, yay! So happy this was some what of a success given the issues you mentioned. Question: did it stick to your parchment paper? Or did you not use parchment this time? Sticking is the worst. I usually find if I butter the pan before I use olive oil or if I use my USA pan, I have no issues, but I imagine all pans behave differently. What material is yours?
I have made this with unbleached ap flour and it has worked, but I would recommend reducing the water if you give this another go. Thanks for writing!
This recipe looks amazing and I really want to try it! My only concern is that I have a rye sourdough starter at 100% hydration. Would that hinder the rise and make the texture more dense as rye has very little gluten? Thanks!
I made this recipe about two weeks ago with my 100% hydration rye starter and it turned out beautiful! I’m going to make it again tomorrow. My dough rose a lot! It almost tripled within 6 hours during the bulk rise, and I live in Canada so my kitchen was not particularly warm. I think you should be able to get a good rise with your starter. The gluten content in your flour that you’re using would matter more. I used unbleached AP flour with a bit of vital wheat gluten (to up the gluten content) and the dough was nice and fluffy.
That’s very reassuring! I’m wondering if my starter wasn’t quite strong enough yet as it’s been about 9 hours and it hasn’t risen by much of anything. I’m in Minnesota so I imagine our climate is somewhat similar. Keeping my fingers crossed for it to work! Thank you!
Hi Sarah and Amelia!
Sarah: thank you for your thoughts here.
Amelia: I would agree: the gluten in your flour should be strong enough to allow you to use a 100% rye starter.
But regarding your starter, I don’t think it is strong enough. It should be doubling in volume in within 8 hours, and it should pass a float test. I would discard most of it, and feed it with equal parts flour and water by weight. Let it sit, and see how it looks in 6-8 hours.
Just thought I’d add to this – I used a 100% hydration starter too + white bread flour and a little bit of AP because I realised I’d ran out – oops. The dough didn’t quite double and was more sticky than the one in the video so I wasn’t able to poke holes in it, but it still turned out really well.
Thank you for sharing! It’s so helpful for others to hear about flour mixes and other such details.
I have made this wonderful focaccia twice with my sourdough discard and a 1/4 tsp of commercial yeast (my starter is young, I’m still building it and I have tons of discard) and it has turned out glorious each time. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I have made a version of this with garlic and herbs, so for anyone curious, I added 2 heads of garlic, finely chopped, and about 1/4 cup of minced rosemary and thyme to the dough before chucking it in the fridge overnight. I’m going to try a sun dried tomato and artichoke version today, so we’ll see how that goes. I am in love with this (very forgiving), easy recipe as a way to use up some of my discard. 🙂
So nice to hear this, Kimberly! Nice work using a little bit of commercial yeast while your starter gets up to strength. And thank you for sharing the process of adding flavorings … sounds soooo good 😍😍😍
after mixing in the first step my dough was very watery, not sure if this is normal?
Hi Leanne! Are you using a scale to measure everything? What type of flour are you using?
This definitely is a wet dough, but it shouldn’t be watery. I definitely recommend cutting the water back or using the smaller amount suggested if you live in a humid environment, too.
Loved this recipe! My bread turned out amazingly and was a crowd pleaser. Thank you,
Wonderful to hear this, Erika!
Thank you!! This was my first sourdough bread recipe I tried, and it turned out so well. Much appreciated.
Wonderful to hear this, Elizabeth!
This was amazing. I’ve already made it twice. Low hands on and came out so light and airy.
Wonderful to hear this, Justine!
It turned out great!!! This is only my third sourdough bake. The first two were loaves that were a little flat – I blame the bowl they rose in, and have not received my proofing basket yet. But I have had a problem with storage. We are not going to finish the whole loaf in two days if I leave it out on the counter in a cotton bag, so I put them in the refrigerator covered in saran wrap and they become really hard to cut and chew. What is the best way to store this focaccia if it will take us 4 to 5 days to finish it?
So wonderful to hear this Casey!
Are you opposed to a ziplock bag? Or an airtight tupperware-type container? I have tried more eco-friendly options than a ziplock for storing bread but nothing seems to keep the crumb the softest than a ziplock or airtight storage vessel. A ziplock will not prevent the crumb from going soft, but this is why I always recommend reheating day old bread, either in the oven or in a toaster, both of which revive bread beautifully.
Pretty new to sourdough! I plan to start this later today–looks terrific. I will be using AP flour–can you try to help me decide how much less water to use? I have no instinct for this stuff! Thanks!
Hi! Sorry just seeing this. I would start with 430 g water.
Great recipe! Works perfectly every time! Thanks so much!
Wonderful to hear this, Gina!
Dough happily doing its final rise! So excited. Do you think there’s a risk of dried rosemary burning if I add it on top at the same time as the flaky salt? My roommate is dead set on it being rosemary focaccia 😉 Thank you!
Sorry just seeing this! I think dried rosemary would have been fine. Did you end up using it?
Sourdough has always frustrated me, but because your recipes and helpful instructions gave me confidence, I took this on as my quarantine weekend project, and couldn’t be more pleased! I wish I could send along a photo of this beautiful bread. I sprinkled herbes de Provence on with the salt. Next up: a loaf!
Wonderful to hear this, Diana!! Herbes de Provence sounds lovely.
Just want to say that I absolutely love this recipe – we’ve made it 4 times in past month (basically once a week), and it’s become a staple bread in our household! As a beginner baker I am super impressed at how easy this is and how great it has consistently turned out. The most recent time we made it, we did the 1-hour autolyze with just flour and water and added the salt/starter afterwards, and that was our best batch yet – but not sure if it had to do with the autolyze or if it had more to do with using the starter at its peak.
So great to hear this, Richard! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your experience. Very interesting re autolyse, too. I’m going to give that a try next time!
Hi. I am also new to sourdough. Thanks for the videos and detailed instructions. I had a very active starter and went forward today with this for my first bake. Like others my dough looked like yours at first. I let it rise —I was planning on an overnight but it was already doubled after 6 hours so I went to the next step. My dough wouldn’t stay folded if that makes sense? It was a little oozier than yours probably bc my kitchen was warm today? I put it in the fridge in the pan with the oil and and will let it rise again in the am and then bake to see what happens but what do you suggest for next time? Less water? Less rising time? Thanks for all the help.
I meant to rate this!
Hi Elizabeth! Yes, it sounds as though if you reduce the water next time, you’ll have a stronger, easier-to-handle dough. I don’t think you should cut the rising time … 6 hours is pretty fast. Do you live in a humid environment? And are you using ap flour?
Keep me posted on the rise/bake today!
Ok will do! I live in Southern California so not humid at all! I took the dough out this am and am 3 hours into the second rise. Will keep you posted!
Hi. It tastes delicious. But it is a little soft, didn’t rise as much as yours and the dough didn’t dimple! Will try again tomorrow—making a loaf now.
OK, sounds good! Yes, try for less water (if it’s not too late), and rely on the visual cues for the bulk fermentation… when it doubles, it’s ready to be shaped. The fact that you couldn’t dimple it makes me think it was over-fermented during the bulk fermentation. Keep me posted!
Ok! I used less water this time and caught the rise right when it doubled. My dough handled and looked much more like yours this time. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for my sourdough loaf—I left a comment about that in the other thread! Just couldn’t get it into a ball. Will report back after baking. Thanks for all your help. 😀
OK, great to hear! Will look out for your other comment.
This recipe is brilliant! The instructions are well-written, and very clear. Each step worked out exactly as described, resulting in a beautiful sourdough focaccia … definitely a keeper!
Wonderful to hear this, Lisa!
Hello, this is currently on it’s first rise. I am just wondering I put oil on it before the first rise as that’s what the instructions said, but that wasn’t in the video. I’m not sure how this will work out yet…anticipating the finished product. Could you tell me for next time what is best to do regarding oil. Also I have seen people mentioning putting it in the fridge, do we? Thank you so much for all your help
Hi Saa! Sometimes I put oil on the dough because the dough can dry out when the bulk fermentation is long (like in the middle of the winter). Recently, I have not been doing oil, but honestly, it doesn’t matter either way: a little oil will not affect the process.
You can always use your fridge as needed. I like to use my fridge during the bulk fermentation if I see my dough is close to being doubled in volume, but I need to go to bed. Sticking it in the fridge will prevent over fermentation. Then, I’ll pick up the process in the morning. You can also stick the pan in the fridge, if you need to, after you get the dough into the baking pan. Keep in mind, sticking it in the fridge will delay the second rise.
So my bread turned out well…ish. It was 207 in the middle maybe even a little more but I think it looks doughy. Tips? Thank you
Hi SAA! How long did you wait before you cut into it? If it is a bit doughy, I would reduce the water next time slightly. What type of flour are you using?
Hi dear.. just took this beauty out of the oven… love the test.. it’s a recipe to keep
Taste
So great to hear this, Ziya!
This was my first attempt at making anything with sourdough. My starter was “born” a week ago and finally yesterday it was ready to spread its wings, so to speak. I had so much starter that I was looking for a recipe to use some of it and I found this one. I followed the recipe as written. My dough came out much wetter and bulkier than pictured in the video and I’m not sure why. Maybe I will cut down the water next time. Maybe I let the bulk fermentation go on a little too long. Nevertheless I forged ahead and about an hour ago was rewarded with the most delicious focaccia ever! I can’t believe I made it myself. It looks really pretty, too! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
So nice to hear this, Mary! There are so many variables that could affect the texture of your dough, but namely the type of flour you are using and the humidity. If you want to make adjustments for next time (though it sounds as though you may not want to 😍), I would simply reduce the water slightly.
Made this today and I’m SUPER happy with how my bread turned out. I’ve only been baking with sourdough starter for a couple of weeks so very much a newbie, it’s hugely boosted my confidence. Thanks 😊
So nice to hear this, Sophie!