Sourdough Focaccia
Good focaccia is one of the most heavenly things to eat. This recipe yields a light, airy, fluffy focaccia, that you can serve at any time of day, whether you are entertaining, making it into a sandwich, or just because you want a little snack.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Rising Time: 18-20 hours
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
Ingredients:
Focaccia Dough
500g bread flour
375g water at 95°F or 35°C
100g sourdough starter
15g kosher salt mixed with 10g of water
Toppings
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
1 small shallot sliced into rings
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Sprinkle of flaky salt
Olive oil
Directions:
Combine the flour, water, and sourdough starter in a bowl.
Bring the dough together and cover and allow to fermentolyse for 30 minutes.
Add salt and 10g of water and pinch it into the dough.
Cover the dough again.
Stretch and fold the dough twice every 45 minutes.
Then complete 4 sets of coil folds, every 30 minutes.
Allow to bulk ferment for 3-5 hours until risen and bubbly (the bulk fermentation time depends on the strength of your starter and the temperature of your kitchen).
After bulk fermentation put the dough in the fridge overnight, or for up to 48 hours.
Oil baking container with olive oil.
Remove the dough from the fridge and gently place the dough into the baking container, being careful to handle it minimally so that the air doesn’t get knocked out of the dough.
Let the dough spread so that it fills the baking container, this can take an hour or up to a few hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Once the dough is bubbly and jiggly, dimple the focaccia dough with oiled fingers (oiling your fingers prevents them from sticking to the dough).
After dimpling the dough, top it with toppings, making sure to press the tomatoes and shallots into the dough.
Drizzle a few lashings of olive oil over the top of the focaccia, and optionally, sprinkle with a touch of flaky salt.
Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for another 20-30 minutes while preheating the oven to 450°F or 230°C.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the focaccia registers at 190°F or 88°C.
Enjoy!
Additional Notes:
*If your sourdough starter is slow you can add 1g of commercial yeast to the mixture when you combine the flour, water, and sourdough starter.
*You can top your focaccia with anything you like, it’s totally up to you! Keep it classic and simple with olive oil, rosemary, and sea salt, throw on any vegetable you may want, pesto, tomato sauce, cheese, or anything that sounds good to you.
