The bounciest crumb, the crispiest oil-fried crust, and a delicious salty crunch. This is sourdough focaccia, my favorite sourdough bread.

Making focaccia from scratch is the most fun bread recipe you will ever bake. I’m obsessed with making it, all thanks to when you dimple the dough. It is beyond satisfying!

Focaccia is a super forgiving bread, making it a perfect recipe for someone just starting to dabble in sourdough baking. There are no specialty tools and no fancy shaping techniques required, unlike most traditional sourdough bread recipes.

This focaccia is a quick, simple sourdough bread that is baked the same day. Thanks to its rustic nature, it requires little maintenance to yield an incredibly flavorful, delicious loaf of bread. This recipe is smaller, fitting in an 8-inch square baking tin. I prefer this vessel because you can easily divide it into four squares, the perfect size for a sandwich. I also highly recommend slicing the focaccia and serving it as an appetizer alongside a dip. I love to eat sliced focaccia with fresh pesto (I used a roasted red pepper pesto in the photo above) or whipped ricotta.

The dough is very quick to mix. I am partial to mixing with my hands because it just makes the process all the more fun. It’s also easier to physically feel how things are going when making direct contact with the dough. After the dough is mixed you will perform four sets of folds, either stretch and fold or coil fold, over the next two hours so stay nearby. I typically start with a stretch and fold and finish the remaining folds as coil folds.

When the dough has finished proofing it will be jiggly and bubbly and will feel like a soft marshmallow when poked. After you drizzle the top of the dough with a generous amount of olive oil, it’s time to go in with your fingers and indent the dough. The dough will release air and lovely big bubbles will start to form as you evenly press and dimple. The olive oil will begin filling in the little wells that have formed on the surface. It is truly so fun to do!

Once the dough has been dimpled, it becomes a canvas for a wide variety of delicious toppings. Fresh rosemary, cherry tomatoes, and olives are common. I personally love adding hunks of parm and coarsely ground pepper (cacio e pepe vibes), a spread-like pesto or chili crisp works great as well, I love any kind of sliced onion or shallot, and I especially love garlic confit! Whenever doing something like garlic confit that is preserved in oil, use that oil in place of the olive oil for an even more infused bread. Lastly, finish with flakey sea salt. The flakey sea salt is a must, it is what makes this bread.

sourdough focaccia bread

This focaccia recipe is a quick, simple sourdough bread that is baked the same day. It has the signature chewy crumb, crispy oil-fried crust, and delicious sea salt crunch.

Ingredients

330g all-purpose flour
240g warm water
7g salt
65g ripe sourdough starter
olive oil
flakey sea salt

Directions

Mix ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, preferably one with a lid.
Cover and proof the dough. For the first two hours (every 30 minutes), you will perform four sets of folds. After 30 minutes perform the first stretch and fold. Cover and repeat the remaining folds using coil folds. Cover and leave it alone to finish proofing, about three more hours. After five hours, the dough should have doubled in size.
Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil into an 8×8 nonstick baking pan or 8-inch cast iron pan. Dump the dough out of the bowl into the pan.
Gently stretch the dough to flatten it out in the pan. It doesn’t matter if the dough isn’t covering the whole pan yet, it will naturally fill in as it proofs.
Cover the pan and proof until doubled in size, about two to three hours, but rely on visual cues. It will be very bubbly and jiggly, with larger bubbles around the edges, and feel like a soft marshmallow when poked.
Once the dough looks ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drizzle the top of the dough with a generous amount of olive oil and sprinkle with fresh rosemary. With wet hands, begin to dimple the dough. Large bubbles should begin forming as you press into the dough. When the dough feels dimpled enough sprinkle with flakey sea salt.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Allow to cool before slicing.