START THE DAY BEFORE!Feed your sourdough starterOnce your sourdough starter is leavened ( risen) its time to mix the dough. To a bowl add 450 grams of bread flour, 100 grams risen sourdough starter, 375 grams warm filtered water, 10 grams salt, 15 grams olive oil. I use a food scale for accuracy.
Using your hand mix all the ingredients together, do not knead the dough. It will look wet and shaggy, mix the dough in circular motions, to form a ball. Cover the bowl with either saran wrap or a tea towel. Recently I started to use shower caps to cover the bowls with. It works so well! I just slip it over the bowl and it stays in place.Cover, then let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
STRETCH AND FOLD!You will do three sets of stretch and folds, with 30 minute breaks in between. It will look like this:-Stretch and fold, cover with a wet towel and rest for 30 minutes-Stretch and fold, cover with a wet towel and rest for 30 minutes-Stretch and fold, cover with saran wrap then place in the fridge for a cold proof.Grab an edge and pull up, Be careful because focaccia dough has more water than regular sourdough bread. Sourdough focaccia bread is lighter and it will rip much easier. Pull upwards as much as it would let you without ripping ( you can wet your hands to prevent them from sticking to the dough) Fold it over to the middle. Turn the bowl and do the same till all sides are folded. Cover the bowl with saran.
RERIGIRATE!Refrigerate 18-48 hours. This gives the dough time to develop also it gives the bread its distinctive flavor. this is called cold proofing.
Once your dough is out of the fridge, drizzle 1 tbl of olive oil on the bottom of your tall sheet pan, then transfer the dough into the pan.
FINAL RISE!Once your dough is transferred into your baking vessel, gently spread it out to fit the pan. Try to be gentle, you don’t want to deflate it or rip it. Use your finder tips to spread it into all corners. Don’t dig your fingertips into the dough, you don’t want to disturb the bubbles inside. If the dough is too difficult to spread out, let it relax at room temperature for 20 minutes while covered with a towel, then continue.Once the sourdough focaccia bread dough is spread out, cover it with a tea towel and let it rise for 3-4 hours at room temperature. The dough will almost double in size.
Pre-heat your the oven to 450 F
Add the salt and toppings before you make the dimples. When you make the dimples the toppings will make its way inside the bread, this makes it that much more delicious! Drizzle with 2 tbl olive oil
Once the toppings are added, make the dimples. To make dimples simply place your finger tips into the bread till you reach the bottom of the pan. Do this all over the dough. Place the pan into the center rack of the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or till the center hits 190f degrees.
Once you take the sourdough focaccia bread out of the oven, melt 2 table spoons of butter and to it add 2 minced garlic cloves , mix then drizzle over the bread.Let it cool down for 10 minutes before you dig in! I like to dip my bread into balsamic vinegar with olive oil and fresh chopped basil. Enjoy!