Sourdough Focaccia

Fluffy, bubbly sourdough focaccia with a crispy crunchy crust, topped with sea salt and sesame seeds.

How do I make sourdough starter?

Ok there are a bunch of different methods for making starter but I follow the Tartine Bakery method which is 1 part starter, 1 part water, 1 part flour (but a 50/50 split of whole wheat flour and bread or all purpose flour). Of course on the first day it will just be flour and water but after that, save about 40 g starter, feed with 40 g room temperature water, and 20 g whole wheat flour, 20 g bread flour. To get a strong starter, you need to feed it once a day everyday for at least 2 weeks.

How is Focaccia different than Sourdough?

Focaccia dough tends to have a higher hydration so that is a higher ratio of water to flour, this is what creates the big bubbles. Focaccia also doesn’t require as much shaping making it an even easier baking process.

Sourdough Focaccia timeline:

• Day before: Early morning, mix “pre dough”. Early afternoon, mix dough, stretch and fold, place it in the fridge.
• Morning of: Take it out and let it proof, then bake for lunch!

Additional Recipes to try:

• Rye Sourdough
• Whole Wheat Sourdough
• Sourdough Bagels

Tips for making Sourdough Focaccia

• Sourdough is all about visual clues so know that it may take some practice and don’t be too hard on yourself.
• Be patient and know that if your room is warm the process will go faster and if it’s cold it will go slower but create more flavor.
• The dough will be quite sticky when you first mix it and for the first couple folds, don’t stress, it will smooth out and come together as it rests. To help with it sticking, wet your hands before stretching and pulling the dough.
• When you take the dough out of the fridge in the morning and tip it into the pan, be prepared to give it a couple hours to come to room temp and get bubbly.
• Be aggressive with the dimpling, the bread is strong and wants to puff in the oven. Therefore you really have to press down when dimpling the dough.
• If you will use up the bread within 4-5 days you can leave it in an airtight zip top bag at room temperature but any longer than that I recommend storing it in the fridge and toasting it.

Ingredients

• Bread Flour: I use King Arthur’s bread flour and find it works great for sourdough starter and all of my sourdough loaves.
• Sourdough Starter: You do need a well established sourdough starter for this recipe. A lot of people have one going so if you don’t have your own you can often buy it from friends or local bakeries!
• Fine Sea Salt: A little fine sea salt enhances the flavors of the bread.
• Water: Water is the liquid in the bread dough.
• Olive Oil: Olive oil gives focaccia it’s classic crispy brown crust. Be sure to taste your olive oil! They aren’t all the same so make sure you’re using one you like!
• Flaky Sea Salt: Flaky salt from Maldon or Jacobsen are best for the top because they won’t dissolve into the bread as it bakes.
• Sesame Seeds: These are optional but I topped the focaccia with white sesame seeds for extra flavor and texture.

How to make Sourdough Focaccia

Morning Before

• Into a medium mixing bowl add in a heaping tablespoon of your sourdough starter. Then add in 100 grams of room temperature water and stir to combine.
• Pour in 100 grams of bread flour. Stir again until combined.
• Lightly cover, not airtight and leave to sit until early afternoon, it should get big and bubbly. To check if it is ready to use, fill a small bowl with water and spoon a tablespoon or so of the bubbly mixture into the water and see if it floats. If it floats it’s ready to use if it sinks, let it sit a bit longer.

Early afternoon mixing

• Into a big mixing bowl add in 100 grams of the bubbly pre dough and 400 grams room temperature water, stir to combine.
• Add in 500 grams bread flour.
• Use your hand to stir and knead the dough until all of the flour has been hydrated aka no dry bits remain.
• Cover the bowl with plastic or a lid and leave it to sit for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, uncover and add in 25 grams more water and 10 grams fine sea salt. Knead again squishing the dough between your fingers. First it will break apart but it will start to come back together. It doesn’t need to be smooth at all just a cohesive dough. Recover and leave to sit out on the counter for 45 minutes.
• After 45 minutes it’s time to start stretching and folding the dough. Wet your hands, and scoop under the dough and lift from the center, stretching the dough up. Keep pulling until all the dough has lifted from the bowl, then gently lay it back down.
• Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat scooping under, pulling, and lifting the dough, then lay it back down.
• Cover the bowl again and leave to sit for 45 more minutes.
• Stretch and pull 3 more times always leaving it to rest for 45 minutes in between. *If your room or home is above 72 degrees, you can cut the time down to 30 minutes.
• After the last stretch and pull, cover the bowl tightly and place it in the fridge overnight.

Morning of – Bake

• Take the bowl out of the fridge 2-3 hours before you want to have the focaccia.
• Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil into a metal 9″ x 13″ pan and rub it around with your fingers or a paper towel.
• Wet your hands and gently scoop under the sides of the dough to release it from the bowl. Transfer the dough to the oil lined pan. Cover the pan and leave it to sit for 1-2 hours.
• It will depend on how warm your home is but you want the dough to get a bit bubbly and at least get close to reaching the edges of the pan during the time.
• Once it’s close, place in the center of the oven. Preheat to 450 F. Use an oven thermometer because you want to get a good color on the focaccia.
• Once the oven reaches 450 F, uncover the dough and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
• Use your hands to spread it around the surface of the dough, then sprinkle with flaky salt and optionally sesame seeds. Use the tips of your fingers to press dimples into the dough all over. This will help create big bubbles.
• Place the pan with the focaccia into the hot oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes have passed, turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for another 15-25 minutes until golden brown on top.
• Once fully baked, remove it from the oven and place it on a rack to cool before slicing into it!

To Make Radish Whipped Ricotta

• In a medium mixing bowl add in half a pound of fresh ricotta. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
• Add in the zest of one lemon and about 40 grams of lemon juice. Salt to taste. From my experience the more lemon juice and salt the better.
• Grate the radishes on the big holes on a box grater or with the blade on a food processor. For a more peppery ricotta, use breakfast radishes. For a more mild flavor, use watermelon radishes, just be sure to peel or cut off the outer layer as it tends to be a little tough.
• The amount of radishes will vary slightly depending on the type you use! I found that three small/medium watermelon radishes or 6-8 breakfast radishes are the right amount.
• Once grated, give the radishes a rough chop so that none of the pieces are too long. Add the radishes into the whipped ricotta and stir to combine.
• Thinly slice a few more radishes for topping.
• Use a piping bag or a plastic bag with an angled cut on the corner of the bag to pipe the ricotta onto the top of the focaccia.
• Top with thin slices of radish, a bit of dill, a squeeze of lemon, drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of flaked salt.

This page may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on one of the product links above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I will never place a link nor make a recommendation on a product or service that I don’t love or use personally. Read our privacy policy here. Thank you for supporting Red Currant Bakery.