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Sourdough focaccia Bread

Sourdough focaccia bread is Italian bread baked in a tall sheet pan, it is flavored with rich olive oil and delicious herbs and seasonings. It has an irresistible crispy crust, yet it is fluffy and airy on the inside! Are you ready to feel like an Italian bread maker? You probably have everything you need to make this ridiculously easy sourdough focaccia Bread!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 35 minutes
Course: Appetizer, bread
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Dough
  • 500 grams Bread flour
  • 375 grams Warm filtered water
  • 100 gramd Leavened sourdough starter
  • 10 grams salt
  • 15 grams Olive oil
Toppings
  • 1/4 cup Freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 tbl pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 tbl chopped basil
  • 1 tbl chopped oregano
  • 3 tbl  extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbl melted butter
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tsp flaky salt

Equipment

  • Sheet pan with tall sides
  • Bowl
  • Saran wrap
  • Tea towel

Method
 

Make leavin
  1. For this recipe, you will need a leavened sourdough starter. Please read my post about sourdough starter. I fed my sourdough starter at 9 AM, and by 12:00 PM, it was ready for me to use.
Mix the focaccia dough
  1. In a large bowl, mix all of the dough ingredients till there is no dry flour. The dough will appear wet and shaggy. Cover the bowl with either plastic wrap or a tea towel. Recently, I have started using shower caps to cover my bowls, and they work really well! I simply slip one over the bowl, and it stays securely in place.
    Cover, then let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Coil folds
  1. Do three sets of coil folds with 30-minute breaks in between.
    This process develops gluten, creating structure in the dough and introducing air, resulting in the beautiful air bubbles that focaccia bread is known for!
    Wet Your Hands: Lightly wet your hands to prevent sticking
    .Lift the Dough: Place your hands underneath the dough, gently cupping the bottom of the dough
    Lift the dough up and stretch it gently, pulling it away from the rest of the dough. You’re aiming to create a bit of tension here.
    Fold the Dough Over: After stretching it up, place it back down toward the center of the dough. Essentially, you’re folding it over itself
    .Turn and Repeat: Rotate the bowl slightly, then repeat the process, lifting and folding from underneath in several spots until you’ve worked your way around the dough.
Bulk ferment
  1. Leave the sourdough focaccia on your countertop for 6-8 hours. This gives the dough time to develop also it gives the bread its distinctive flavor.
  2. The next day, place the dough into a tall sheet pan. I lined mine with parchment paper and drizzled 1 tablespoon of olive oil over it. If you have a good nonstick sheet pan, you don’t need to line it with parchment paper.
Let it rest!
  1. 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 1-2 hours at room temperature. The dough will become fluffy and full of bubbles.
    Pre-heat your the oven to 450 F
Toppings
  1. Sprinkle the topping evenly all over the dough. You can use any toppings your heart desires! You can do rosemary and flaky salt, olives and tomato’s, mozzarella cheese, you decide! Let your inner Ratatouille guide you 😉
    My tip is to 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!
Make dimples and bake!
  1. After adding the toppings, dip your fingertips in olive oil. To create dimples, press your fingertips into the dough until you reach the bottom of the pan. Continue doing this all over the dough. Place the sourdough focaccia on the center rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the center reaches 190°F.
    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 digging in! I like to dip my bread into balsamic vinegar with olive oil and fresh chopped basil. Enjoy!