Wrinkled fingers and toes, sand in every nook and cranny, lunch sacks with empty oil-stained white baker’s paper, and serpentine hair that could pass as a sun-bleached mop head—all signs of a successful outing to the beach. Our daily trips to the Adriatic’s cool, blue waters were welcome escapes from the city heat during family visits to Southern Italy. Our little beach— perhaps with a bit of fantasy I like to think it was just ours—was a short drive away in a small stick-shift car packed to the brim with people. Family car after family car, we’d speedily caravan through the small towns toward our respite. The few, yet crucial, stops along the way had a single purpose: to fill our sacks with baked goods meant to sustain our time away. My favorite among these, by a long measure, was a simple sourdough focaccia.
With hardly a second thought, we’d buy several full sheet trays of the golden bread. The baker would cut the thick slabs into manageable pieces and wrap the entire thing in the white paper, sealed shut with a shiny sticker— conceivably an attempt to elevate the humble, yet utterly otherworldly, snack.
You see, focaccia is a rustic and simple affair: it’s a slab of naturally leavened dough topped with simple ingredients, any vegetable in season, olive oil, and salt. Some focaccia are soft, and some are crispy (my preference), sometimes thick and sometimes thin. There are as many variations across Italy as there are dialects. The beauty of this bread is that you can make it with little effort. First, mix the dough in the morning, then let it rise during the day, and finally bake it just before dinner. If you have a ripe sourdough starter, salt, and olive oil, you’re hours away from golden focaccia—and all the wonderful olfactory impressiveness therein—baking in your home oven.
Because sourdough focaccia has so few ingredients, the ones you use should be of the utmost quality. Use vegetables in season and the highest quality olive oil you can find. In this post, I worked with Jovial’s Olio Nuovo, a fresh-pressed olive oil from the Valpantena area of Northern Italy. It isn’t easy to source exclusively fresh-pressed olive oil. Usually, this oil is blended with aged oil, balancing the flavor profile to make it consistent with other offerings throughout the year. This fresh oil has a delicate flavor but a balanced, upfront fruitiness as well. If you’ve never had the chance to try an oil like this, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Flour Selection
With this naturally leavened focaccia, I wanted little sourness in the result. While I typically include whole grains in most of my recipes, I wanted the flavor of this classic bread to be mild so the taste of the olive oil and fresh toppings pop. Removing all the whole grain flour from initial trials hit the spot.
For this formula, I blended 30% high protein flour (about 13% protein) with 70% all-purpose flour (11-12% protein). The high protein flour helps give this highly-hydrated dough strength and structure—and 30% is just enough.
Focaccia Toppings
This simple sourdough focaccia can be topped with just about anything you can imagine. My favorite is rosemary, chopped cherry tomatoes, pitted kalamata olives, coarse sea salt, and good quality olive oil. Traditionally, Ligurian focaccia (and as shown in the recent Salt Fat Acid Heat episode on Netflix) is topped with a salty brine. Instead, I love dusting the top with coarse sea salt: the chunky crystals bring unexpected pops of flavor.
Here are a few more ideas:
- Tomatoes, capers, oregano, garlic, olive oil
- Thinly sliced Yukon gold potatoes tossed with coarse salt. Let the potatoes drain over a colander for 15 minutes to help remove some water. Then top in addition to coarse sea salt, fresh thyme, and olive oil
- Sliced and olive oil-marinated red onions, brined olives, and fresh chopped tomatoes
- Grated hard cheeses of all kinds (parmesan, pecorino, etc.), rosemary, olive oil
A Simple Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
Special Equipment
For this sourdough focaccia, you will need a round or rectangular pan for baking. I like to use a deep pan (as opposed to a baking sheet) so the focaccia doesn’t dry out too fast in the oven. My preferred pans:
- 9″ x 13″ USA Pan Rectangular Cake Pan
- Two 10 x 2.25″ LloydPans Round Pans (use the same dough weight as in this recipe, just divide in half and place each half into one pan)
Both pans have a nonstick interior, and they conduct heat exceptionally well, imparting a beautiful crust on the naturally leavened focaccia.
Vitals
| Total Dough Weight | 1,200 grams |
| Sourdough Starter | 19.00% |
| Hydration | 76.00% (78.00% with olive oil) |
| Yield | One 1200g focaccia |
Total Formula
This table shows the entire quantity and baker’s percentages for each ingredient. If you’d like to make two large focaccia (or four smaller ones), double everything in the table below.
There’s no specific levain build for this focaccia, just use some of your sourdough starter when it’s ripe (when you’d normally give it a refreshment). See my post on the differences between a levain and sourdough starter for more information on the two preferments.
Target final dough temperature (FDT) is 76°F (24°C).
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 423g | All-purpose flour (King Arthur All-Purpose Flour) | 70.00% |
| 181g | High protein bread flour, malted (King Arthur Bread Flour) | 30.00% |
| 12g | Extra virgin olive oil (Jovial Olio Nuovo Organic Olive Oil) | 2.00% |
| 459g | Water | 76.00% |
| 11g | Salt | 1.80% |
| 115g | Sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 19.00% |
Method
Mix – 9:00 a.m.
This dough can be mixed by hand (I would use the slap and fold technique) or with a stand mixer like a KitchenAid or Famag spiral mixer.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add both the flours, water, salt, and ripe sourdough starter (hold back the olive oil until later in mixing).
Mix on speed 1 for 1 to 2 minutes until incorporated. Then, mix on speed 2 for 5 minutes until dough strengthens and clumps around the dough hook. Let the dough rest in the mixing bowl for 10 minutes.
Next, turn the mixer on to speed 1 and slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl while mixing. Once all of the olive oil is absorbed, turn the mixer up to speed 2 for 1 to 2 minutes until the dough comes back together.
Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover.
This highly hydrated and enriched dough is wet and loose, it won’t strengthen to the same degree as a typical bread dough.
As you can see below on the left, the dough is still very wet and chunky immediately after mixing. However, it’s not falling apart or soupy. Please resist the temptation to add more flour at this point. As you can see below in the image at the right, by the middle of bulk fermentation, it’ll strengthen after several sets of stretch and folds (see my guide on how to stretch and fold sourdough for more information).
Transfer the dough to a covered container for bulk fermentation.
Bulk Fermentation – 9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Give the dough 4 sets of stretches and folds (fold a side of the dough up and over to the other side, and then rotate the container to perform 4 folds per set), starting 30 minutes after mixing, and a set every 30 minutes after that.
Proof – 11:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Transfer the dough to a deep rectangular pan that’s been greased with olive oil. If you don’t have a pan with a silicone liner, make sure to heavily oil the pan’s interior so the focaccia doesn’t stick during baking.
At 76-78°F (24-25°C), the dough will proof for 4 hours. This time period is flexible and dependent on the temperature: if it’s cooler, let it proof longer, and conversely, if it’s warm, you might be able to bake sooner.
Every 30 minutes for the first hour, uncover the pan and gently stretch the dough with wet hands to the pan’s edges to encourage it to fill the pan. The dough will naturally spread out during this proofing period, so it’s unnecessary to spread the dough aggressively. Once the dough is mostly spread to the edges, cover the pan and proof for 4 hours.
OVERNIGHT OPTION: After two hours in proof, cover the rectangular pan with an airtight cover and transfer to the fridge. The next day, take out the dough and let it come to room temperature, and continue with the Top & Bake step below.
The rectangular pan I use fits perfectly inside my B&T Dough Proofer. I keep it inside the proofer, covered with reusable plastic, and set to 78°F (25°C) until ready to bake.
About 30 minutes before you anticipate the sourdough focaccia dough being ready, preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C) with a rack placed in the bottom third (a baking stone is not necessary).
Top & Bake – 3:15 p.m.
First, dimple the unadorned dough with wet fingers. Make sure the dimples are evenly spaced and go all the way down to the bottom of the pan. Then, drizzle on 1-2 tablespoons of your extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with herbs and coarse sea salt. If using other toppings, add them now as well—I like to press them into the dough gently.
Bake the focaccia in the oven at 450°F (232°C) until deeply colored on top, about 30 minutes. Rotate the pan front-to-back halfway through this time. Keep an eye on it during the last 5 minutes and pull it out if it’s coloring too quickly, or leave it in longer if you’d like it a little darker.
Let the focaccia cool a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s fantastic warm from the oven, and best on the day of baking, but it’ll keep well for a couple of days loosely wrapped in foil (reheat under the broiler before serving).
Conclusion
When I topped the pillowy focaccia dough, the aroma of fruity olive oil and chopped rosemary was captivating. Once the pan was slid into the oven, my house gradually filled with the most intoxicating perfume as the dough rose high and the edges began to crisp. The melange of baking dough, toasted herbs, olive oil, and briny olives had me checking the oven frequently—as if checking on it would expedite things. Sit tight, wait for it to finish, I told myself as I gently slapped my hand from opening the door yet again.
Thanks to the copious addition of high-quality olive oil, both in the mix and on top of the dough, causes the dough to turn crispy and take on a beautiful golden hue. Biting through a slice first provides a faint resistance, then gives way to a soft and ultra-tender interior. A perfect mix of flavors and textures—an experience best savored, as if you’re at the beach without an agenda.
This simple and rustic sourdough focaccia, made with a naturally leavened dough and topped with just the right balance of ingredients, brings me right back to the blue waters of the Adriatic; the sun in my eyes and thick, crunchy slices of bread eaten with haste. The only things absent are the beautiful white wrapping paper and all those little bits of sand that seem to work their way into just about everything—yea, I can do without that.
If you’re looking for more focaccia-goodness, check out my sourdough focaccia Pugliese which has potato added into the dough, for even more chew, softness, and deliciousness.
Thanks so much to Jovial for supplying me with their wonderful olive oil and sponsoring this simple sourdough focaccia recipe! As usual, the content and opinions here are my own.
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A Simple Sourdough Focaccia
- Prep Time: 6 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 focaccia
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This easy to make and delicious focaccia comes together all in one day using your already ripe sourdough starter. Top with tomatoes, olives, rosemary, and coarse sea salt—or, really, anything you have in the kitchen that’s fresh and sounds delicious!
Ingredients
- 423g all-purpose flour
- 181g high-protein bread flour
- 12g extra virgin olive oil
- 459g water
- 11g salt
- 115g ripe sourdough starter
Instructions
- Mix (9:00 a.m.)
This dough can be mixed by hand or with a stand mixer (like a KitchenAid). To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add both the flours, water, salt, and ripe sourdough starter (hold back the olive oil until later in mixing). Mix on speed 1 for 1 to 2 minutes until incorporated. Then, mix on speed 2 for 5 minutes until dough strengthens and clumps around the dough hook. Let the dough rest in the mixing bowl for 10 minutes.Next, turn the mixer on to speed 1 and slowly drizzle the olive oil into the bowl while mixing. Once all of the olive oil is absorbed, turn the mixer up to speed 2 for 1 to 2 minutes until the dough comes back together. Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. - Bulk fermentation (9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.)
Give the dough 4 sets of stretch and folds at 30-minute intervals, where the first set starts 30 minutes after the start of bulk fermentation. - Proof (11:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.)
Liberally oil the inside of a 9×13″ rectangular pan or two 10″ diameter circular baking pans. Gently scrape the dough out of the bulk fermentation directly into the rectangular pan (or onto a work surface, divide in two, and place each in a circular pan).The dough will proof in the pan for 4 hours. Every 30 minutes for the first hour, uncover the pan and gently stretch the dough with wet hands to the pan’s edges to encourage it to fill the pan. The dough will naturally spread out during this proofing period, so it’s unnecessary to spread the dough aggressively. Once the dough is mostly spread to the edges, cover the pan and let it proof for the remainder of the 4 hours. About 30 minutes before the end of the 4-hour proof period, preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) with an empty rack in the bottom third. - Top & Bake (3:15 p.m.)
When your oven is preheated, dimple the top of the dough all over with wet fingers. Then, liberally drizzle on olive oil to cover the surface of the dough. Spread on chopped herbs and coarse sea salt. Bake until golden on the top and bottom, about 30 minutes. Let the focaccia cool in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s wonderful straight from the oven, and best the day it’s baked.
Notes
Overnight proof option: mid-way through the 4-hour proof, place the covered pan with dough in the refrigerator to proof overnight. The next day, take the dough out, bring it up to room temp, finish proofing until well-risen and bubbly, and continue with the Top & Bake step.
If you use this recipe, tag @maurizio on Instagram so I can take a look!
724 Comments
I made this a couple months ago and it was perfect and delightfully crunchy on top and fluffy inside. Today, however, I failed miserably and not sure why. It is tough and hard on top and has the consistency of a sponge. It didn’t look like it was very active during the second rise (in the pan). I bake bread often and I felt like I did everything the correct way, but now I’m stuck turning this into croutons. Any insights?
Ah, sorry to hear that! Hmm. It’s hard to say, but it almost sounds like it was very under proofed. Did you use your starter when it was ripe (after it had fermented for some hours, perhaps overnight) to mix into this dough?
Finally made this and it was fantastic!! Topped it with some fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden along with some fresh rosemary. Will make again
Right on, Heather! Glad to hear it worked out. I’m getting a slow trickle of tomatoes rolling in here so I’m hoping to follow suit 🙂 Happy baking!
Type 00 and pizza flour will absolutely work just fine. For the spelt, I would consider reducing the hydration of the dough, likely something like 5-10%, as spelt is very sensitive to over hydration!
I’ve made this focaccia many, many times and my husband still keeps asking for it. I never get to practice baking anything else! Can you tell me how long I can leave the dough in the refrigerator for the overnight option? I’d like to put it in on Friday afternoon and not finish proof & bake until Sunday. Shouldn’t that be okay?
Ha ha, that’s a great compliment, Wendy! That will work, just expect a little less rise and perhaps a touch more sour flavor in the end.
It is the same for my husband! He never had focaccia before, and now I can’t bake Maurizio’s focaccia fast enough! 😊
I failed twice at sourdough baking (two different recipes) and was finally successful with your APF recipe! I made your pizza the other night and was also a great success. I can’t wait to try this focaccia recipe – you haven’t let me down yet!!
So glad to hear that, Vanessa! I hope the focaccia turned out well 🙂
Really super duper. If anything, I thought the dough could be a bit MORE hydrated, but that might be due to the super-strong white flours I’m working with here in Germany.
I gave the dough a few more folds once it was in the oiled pan, folding it onto itself several times (as though during the ‘shaping’ phase of a boule) before gently stretching it out as Maurizio instructs. This for two hours, then into fridge (3 degrees Celsius), then another 2.5 hours out of fridge next day to come to room temp and proof further. 25 minutes in the oven and holy cow batman! I’m convinced my focaccia was the key to Italy’s win Sunday. Jus’ saying…
Glad it turned out well, Marlene! It is definitely a highly hydrated dough, but I think that really brings a wonderful texture to the end result. Enjoy!
So glad to hear that, Lucia! Enjoy 🙂
Hi Maurizio! Can you give advice on adjusting this recipe for a less than 100% hydrated starter? I feed mine ~ 1 cup of flour : 1/2 cup of water. Thank you!
Hey, Olive! Usually, it would mean increasing the water in the dough to compensate for the “missing” water in your starter. However, because this recipe is so highly hydrated as it is, I wouldn’t worry to much about any adjustment—just use your starter as-is. Happy baking!
Hi! When reading your response to olives question, isn’t her starter 100% hydration? 1 cup of flour=4.25 oz, and 1/2 c water is 4 oz. am I correct? Thanks, maurizio! I’m making this today!
Hey, Carol! If her starter has half as much water as flour, then it’s 50% hydration. To be 100% hydration, you have to have as much water as flour (i.e., 100g flour / 100g water = 100%). I hope the bake went well!
Hi Maurizio – I’ve made this several times and it is delicious. There’s a discrepancy in the pans that can be used instead of the rectangular pan (which I what I use most of the time).
This is from the “Special Equipment” section before the recipe card:
Two 10 x 2.25″ LloydPans Round Pans (use the same dough weight as in this recipe, just divide in half and place each half into one pan)
But the recipe ‘card’ says:
…or two 8″ diameter circular baking pans.
I wanted to make 2 separate breads so I divided the dough and used 2 8″ baking pans, but the dough immediately filled up the pans, no stretching needed. I decided to dump the dough back into my rectangular pan.
So, instead of the rectangular, should I use 2 10.25″ pans or 2 8″ pans? Or does it matter all that much?
Glad to hear that, Susan! Yes, you’re right, there’s a typo in there—sorry about that! I use 10″ diameter pans, and I feel that works best with this recipe. It’ll yield a thinner focaccia than the rectangular version.
If you wanted a thicker focaccia, scale the dough up to 1400g total dough weight (for two 10″ diameter pans) or use 8″ diameter pans.
Hey Maurizio – just wanted to say I made the focaccia the other day, for maybe the 6th or 7th time. It’s a reliable workhorse recipe that’s like comfort food to me now. Topped with cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, rosemary, and a sprinkling of Maldon salt and I’m transported :), Especially using it for a sandwich with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, baby arugula, oil and vinegar – soooo good! My son and daughter-in-law will be visiting soon from LA and D-I-L has already put in her order for some when they get to us 😉
Super glad to hear that, Jeff! I’m making this today, in fact, it’s a workhorse recipe here that always pleases. You know it’s a winner when you get requests from out of state! Enjoy and thanks so much for the comments 🙂
The focaccia looks stunning! I was wondering if this recipe can be made with all bread flour, since I don’t have all purpose flour on hand?
Thanks, Misty! Yes, that will work just fine 🙂
Beautiful recipe! I made this and would like to bring it to a dinner party in 2 days- what is the best way to keep it? Refrigerated? Room temp? Foil, plastic or paper bag? Obviously I will probably reheat it. My toppings are olives, lemon zest, rosemary and thin shallots. Thank you!
Definitely room temp!
This is the second time I’ve made this focaccia and it is really tasty! However, it is also really sour. And what I mean by that is you basically can’t taste the delicious toppings because the bread is so strong. I like this in a regular loaf, but would like it to be a bit more mild in the focaccia. Is there a way for me to change the flavor profile from super strong to mild?
What you could try is making a levain for the focaccia. Make one that is 100% white flour to cover the 115g sourdough starter called for. I would do 40g white flour, 40g water, 40g ripe starter. Mix that and let it ripen for 3 hours, then use in the recipe where a starter is called for.
Are you using an unfed starter for this recipe or are you using starter after feeding at its peak?
Use your starter when it’s ripe and would normally receive a refreshment.
Hi, I’m a hobby baker. I wonder if you always measure, I don’t. Thanks’ for the great articles. C.
I do! I’m just so used to it after baking for so long this way… I could do it just by feel, or just wing it, but I have a good process and like to take notes 🙂
Happy baking!
Hi Maurizio – New to sourdough baking and just made your beginner’s sourdough loaf twice! Can’t wait to try this out. Could I half this recipe?
I admit I’m not Maurizio, but you can definitely halve this recipe as long as you follow the bakers percentages 🙂 Timing should stay the same
Thank you so much, Emma!
Are you saying you can just take the ingredients and divide in half for one loaf.
That’s correct!
Yes, you certainly can. Like @disqus_naoFQSO1da:disqus said, just use baker’s percentages and you’re good.
Thank you so much, Maurizio!
Once you make it, you’re not going to want to halve the recipe, you’ll want to double it!
I have made this several times and it NEVER disappoints, even if I get heavy handed and weird with my toppings. But I have to ask, and please don’t ban me from the site for this, but have you ever used this as a sweet focaccia? Any suggestions for what to add or do to make one? My goal is to eat focaccia for dinner and again for dessert.
Ha ha! So glad to hear that, Ceedee. No, banning, I promise 🙂 No, I’ve never made this as a sweet focaccia, but I do know grapes and spices (like rosemary) are common choice for a slightly sweeter take. But really, anything you think would taste good on dough would be fun to play with!
Any ideas on what the conversion would be if I wanted to do this with active dry yeast? Would be curious if there is any time differences to note as well. Love your recipes and info.
Thanks, Micayla! Hmm. I’m thinking 0.5 to 1% perhaps? That’s my guess (but do know I have very limited experience with IY :)).
What’s the hour gap between proofing and topping to bake?
Typo! I recently put in that recipe card and I copied it over wrong. Topping and baking should happen around 3:15pm.
Thank you. It turned out excellent except I should have been more generous with the oil on the bottom!
I made this last weekend and baked in two 8″ square pans. This was soooo …. good! I will definitely make this again. Thanks for the wonderful recipes Maurizio!
Ah wonderful to hear this, Helga! Enjoy 🙂
Beautifully created & maintained site. Thank you.
You’re very welcome. Thanks for the kind words, George!
Hey Maurizio,
If you proof overnight in the fridge, how long do you generally let it proof at room temp before baking the following day? Obviously every kitchen is different, but is it a 20 minute counter rest while the oven gets to temp, or several hours?
Thanks!
It should be pretty short, but go by how the dough is feeling. It should be very soft, bubbly, and well risen. It really depends on how the dough is going into the fridge!
Hi
is it possible with convection too or just contuction? with steam or without?
Yes, I sometimes do use convection. I don’t steam the oven with focaccia because there is sufficient oil on the surface to allow for expansion.
Fantastic recipe. I typically make focaccia with yeast, but wanted to try a naturally leavened version. Happy to say that it was a success! Followed the recipe almost exactly – I was very low on AP flour so needed to switch the amounts of AP flour and bread flour. Hand mixed and then used a flat rubber spatula to help incorporate the olive oil after the dough had rested in the bowl. Put in a 9×13 glass since that’s all I have that size. By hour 3 of proofing, had a good amount of air bubbles and volume, but left for a bit over 4 hours. Topped each quarter with a different topping – olives, caramelized onions, rosemary, tomatoes – and then finished off with olive oil and maldon salt. So good! Will make again once I get more AP flour so that I can see the texture difference. Also, I might use parchment paper in the container next time. Note – I always proof in my oven with the light on to help create a warm environment – this makes a huge difference from leaving it out.
Right on, Christine! So glad to hear it worked out well for you. Good move on proofing in the oven, especially when it’s been so cold lately. Enjoy!