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.
1,237 Comments on “Simple Sourdough Focaccia: A Beginner’s Guide”
Favorite! Delicious every time.
So nice to hear this, Katie!
Thanks for the recipe! Very tasty. I’ve made it a few times now and while it is always delicious, I’ve had varying degrees of over rise. Sometime it’s rises so much in the oven that most of the dimpling is gone. I am in the southeast, so humid and warm but inside temp is usually around 70*. I typically mix in the late evening and let it bulk overnight. Then proof in the morning for 3-4 hrs. Any suggestions to getting a flatter/lower rise bread that is more “focaccia-y”?
Hi Jim! OK, a few thoughts, but first a few questions:
1. What size pan are you using?
2. How much is the dough rising during the bulk fermentation?
3. When you dimple the dough, are you being pretty aggressive?
I thoroughly enjoyed trying my first attempt at focaccia bread.It turned out very crunchy and tasty.Thank you so much for the detailed advice and exceptional way in which the photos and explanation of methods were executed.The instructions were brilliantly done.
During lockdown we decided to bake bread and attempt the ciabatta bread.
My rye sourdough turned out just ok.
Our local Italian chef delivered tasty dishes and presented me with 200 grams of sourdough, well I spent the entire weekend on the net looking for the ideal recipe.So lucky that I found your website
Kind regards,
Liz.
So nice to hear all of this, Liz! Thanks so much for writing. Lucky you to have a local Italian chef delivering food … what a dream 🙂 🙂 🙂
Darn.. I followed this exactly. I used the min. amount of water you suggested since I live in a humid climate. When it came time to dimple it, it was super wet and sticky and the dimples didn’t take. It didn’t get golden brown at ALL. Just looks white and pasty. Help!!
Hi Nicole! Bummer to hear this. It sounds as though your dough over fermented.
Questions: How long was the bulk fermentation? And did the dough more than double in volume?
Please check out this troubleshooting post, too: Why is my sourdough so sticky? 4 Common Mistakes
Made this for the first time yesterday. Winner!! Time for another one.
Thanks
Wonderful to hear this, Mimi!
Thanks for the recipe am going to try it. I would like to know if I can use dried block starter, if so how much.
Hi Mahin! I’m not familiar with dried block starter — can you elaborate? I have reconstituted dried starter, but the process took a couple of days. It’s easy, but you do need to add water, let it sit, discard, add more water, etc. until you have an active, bubbly starter.
Hi Alexandra, does the total bulk fermentation time include the 30 minutes for the stretch and folds? Thanks!
Yes! But try not to rely on time period so much as visual cues — you’re looking for the dough to nearly double in volume.
Haven’t tried it yet. But have these questions:
Why no cover and/or steam when baking?
Can the bowl cover be plastic or a silicon cover?
Can you recommend a bread pan?
Hi Dee!
Regarding the not covering, it’s because you don’t want that thick, burnished crust you get with an artisan-style boule. You want a golden, slightly crisp, crust. Just think about focaccia you’ve eaten vs crusty artisan boules you’ve eaten — different style crusts so different methods of baking.
Yes re bowl cover: use what you have, just be sure it’s somewhat breathable.
This is my favorite pan for this focaccia: USA 9×13-inch pan
This recipe is amazing! The first time I made it, I used the full amount of water and it tasted two wet. The next time I decreased it by just 10g and it was perfect. Seems like such a small amount but it made all the difference. I’ve made this so many times and have had rave reviews. This is the recipe that has had people tell me I should open a bakery. 🙂 I only add Maldon salt to the top as I like to keep it simple. I’ve also used it to make focaccia pizza that turned out fantastic. Thank you for your step by step instructions as well as the video.
So nice to hear this, Maggie! It really is amazing how small adjustments to quantities make such a difference with sourdough. And I hope you do open that bakery!!
Thanks for the great recipe! Mine didn’t turn out great. The first rise went well, but then it didn’t rise very much after I transferred the dough into the baking pan (despite me leaving it for 6 hours in the pan. As a consequence, it was pretty dense and gummy when it came out of the oven. The taste is wonderful though (can really taste the sourdough) but texture is off. I’d love a suggestion!
Hi Sara, it sounds as though the dough maybe over-fermented during the bulk fermentation. How many hours was the bulk fermentation? And is your starter strong and reliable? Also, please read this troubleshooting page as it may give you some insights as to where things went wrong.
Great recipe! I added olives and sun-dried tomatoes on top and it was divine! Can’t wait to try new flavours. I saw someone ask about this so just thought I’d share… I did my second proofing overnight in the fridge and then took it out in the morning and let it sit out a couple hours to warm up a bit before dimpling the top. Turned out great!
Wonderful to hear this Kim! Thanks for sharing that tip. I have done that as well … I need to add notes to the recipe. The refrigerator is the BEST tool for making sourdough work with your schedule.
A winning recipe with my family. Great for a chilly Sunday pasta night. Worked perfectly the first try!
Wonderful to hear this, Erin!
Can you put cheese inside focaccia bread? If so when?
Thanks
Kathy
Hi Kathy! And yes: After your do one set of stretches and folds, wait 30 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese over top; then do another set of stretches and folds. Wait 30 minutes; then do one more set of stretches and folds.
Love this!! Have you ever tried to make this or the loaf into a cinnamon swirl version?
Great to hear this, Maggie!
I have not yet tried to make this or the loaf into cinnamon swirl, but I don’t think it would be too tricky. I might reduce the water a bit (50-100 g) to make rolling out the dough a little easier.
Love it! This recipe is in my To-Do list. The instructions are so straightforward and helpful for beginners. I will prefer using the whole wheat flour. Thank you!
Sooooooo good. Tooooo good. Can’t stop eating this!
Followed instructions as given and the focaccia is absolutely scrumptious. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe so well and clearly.
So nice to hear this, Beverly! Thanks so much for writing 💕💕💕
Tried this recipe and loved it. However, the bottom got very brown, almost burnt. How can I prevent this from happening? Lower temperature? Move rack to higher spot in oven? Appreciate any input .
Romaine
Hi Romaine! What material is your pan? But, yes, either lower the temperature or change the position in the oven. Does the top of the focaccia get golden?
I love this recipe! I have made this bread a few times now and it always turns out beautifully with a creamy, airy crumb. I think I use a little too much olive oil at the end during dimpling but it makes the crust so crispy and adds a little flavor. My go to for focaccia!
No such thing as a little too much oil 🙂 Wonderful to hear this, Chrissy! Thanks so much for writing.
This looks amazing!! Do you think I can make focaccia on my baking steel, or would I need to use a good ol pan? I have a steel, but my pan is definitely not as good haha
Thanks!
Hi Annie! You definitely need some sort of pan … the dough makes its second rise in the pan it is being baked in. It’s such a high-hydration dough that it needs a pan with some sort of rim to contain it.
Hi Ali,
Can I incorporate some whole grain flour ?
Hi Angela! I would start with 1 cup (128 g) whole wheat flour and 3 cups (384 g) ap or bread flour; then depending on your results, adjust with more or less whole wheat flour next time around.
Very easy and delicious recipe. Devoured within minutes.
Thank you
Wonderful to hear this, Steve!
Despite using a metal pan and plenty of olive oil, I had trouble with the focaccia sticking. It was quite the battle getting it out of the pan, but worth the effort. Very tasty!
I think I’ll use parchment next time.
Oh no, such a bummer! Yeah, truly, my USA Pan is the only pan I can get away with using olive oil along. I do always have success when I use butter before olive oil with my other pans … but yes, parchment is a good idea for the future.
Love this recipe. My son and DIL made pizza on the grill for my birthday, and I swear it is the best pizza dough I have ever had. I’ve since made it twice myself.
This isn’t the only recipe on this blog I love. Alexandra has become my Go-To site for sourdough recipes.
So nice to hear this, Virginia 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing 💕💕💕💕💕
Chlorine vs Chloramine – some water supplies use the Chloramine which will not go away by just letting the water sit out. You need to filter it or treat the water.
Absolutely STUNNING. I used King Arthur bread flour and took a chance cold fermenting it for 24 hours in the fridge – result was gorgeous – slightly chewy, slightly tart, and the perfect amount of salt and moisture. I’ve tried a number of focaccia recipes and this is the best I’ve encountered. In fact, my husband and I agree it’s the best bread we’ve ever had. Period.
Can’t wait to try other recipes on this site!
Oh yay! So wonderful to hear this. Thank you so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I require flour to be gluten-free ..also, no garbanzo flour. Yet I crave sourdough bread…is there a source of safe sourdough starter or are we out of luck? thanks.
Hi Ruth, I would look up Canelle et Vanille. She has a book on gluten-free sourdough baking. Here is one of her recipes: https://www.shellyshumblekitchen.com/gluten-free-sourdough-bread/
Hi Alexandra,
If i’m using 50 g of starter, do i half the other ingredients used as well? (i.e. 220g of water, 258g of bread flour etc)
Thank You
Hi Aaron! No need to halve the other ingredients unless you are looking to make a smaller focaccia. I always use 100 grams of starter, but I’m in Upstate New York, where it is cold for much of the year. If you live in a very hot humid environment, I would suggest 50 grams, but otherwise, I suggest 100 grams.
Thanks Alexandra!
I live in Asia where the humidity tends to be close to 80 % most of the time. Went with 60% hydration and 50g starter then followed the rest of the recipe! Fingers crossed!
It’s a wonderful recipe, love the bread. Thank You
Wonderful, so nice to hear 🙂
brilliant easy recipe
Great to hear this, Val!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I have tried once and it was delicious. I have a question, if I want to make in a regular bread loaf pan, how long is cooking time?
Hi Carmen! Follow the baking instructions on this post: Simple Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Hi I have tried this recipe and number of times and I have never been able to get the fluffy pillow we know that you have a new video. When I make normal sourdough bread that turns out fine but for some reason I just can’t get your recipe to work for me it always ends up being quite sloppy this is when I check it Regularly during fermentation even when it’s doubled it never looks the same.
If I try the same recipe with regular yeast then I can achieve what you have.
Please help
Thanks
Dharm
Hi Dharm! A few thoughts: have you tried letting the dough rise only until the dough increases in volume by 50%? As opposed to 100% (doubling)? I think that might make a huge difference. Second, how much water are you using? and do you live in a humid environment? You could try cutting the water back to 420 g if so.
Hi, I have made this focaccia twice now, both times had good procuct to consume. I don’t quite grasp the timeline of bulk ferment, stretch & fold, second rising stuff but despite my confusion I don’t seem to be able to mess it up. But the baking has me puzzled, 25 minutes at 425°F has been woefully short for me… I didn’t track the additional time on the first adventure but it was near double and not quite as dark as yours. Second bake went 18 minutes past the 25 minute plan and still not as dark, inside seems fine. I put a remote thermometer in the oven and the temp is fairly accurate, any suggestions?
Hi Rick! I would just keep doing what you are doing: baking it till it is the color of your liking — it doesn’t matter if it’s 18 or more minutes beyond what is suggested here… all ovens vary, and it’s best to rely on visual cues.
Another option: increase the baking temperature to 450ºF, and take a peek after 20 minutes; if it still looks pale, don’t adjust the temperature. If it is browning too quickly, lower the temperature, and continue baking as you have been: until it is done to your liking.
Out of curiosity, what is the material of your pan?
I think the pan is ceramic of some type, kind of an odd thing, large lip, sloped sides, interior is ~9×13. I started running an external temp probe in the oven as I was wondering if I had an oven issue, but other than a bit of variance running hotter than the oven thinks, it seems fine. My worry is undercooking,
Ok, good to know. Yeah, I would just keep cooking it longer than the stated time and until it looks done to your liking.