Easy Sourdough Focaccia - Perfect for Beginners (2024)

This Sourdough Focaccia recipe is easy even for total beginners! The dough is very easy to work with and you don’t have to worry about shaping or scoring. A wonderfully chewy focaccia with an airy texture that’s easy to customise and totally delicious.

New to Sourdough Baking? Try my Overnight Sourdough Bread.
Got sourdough discard to use up? Try my Sourdough Cheese Scones or Sourdough Blueberry Crumb Cake or this Easy Sourdough Discard Focaccia With Yeast.

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Sourdough bread is definitely having a moment in 2020! Extra time at home allowed many to dabble and experiment with sourdough baking.

And I hope that this baking trend is here to stay – there’s so much satisfaction and pride in making your own bread!

SIMPLE SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA

Focaccia is a traditional yeasted Italian flatbread that can be served as an appetizer, made into sandwiches, or served with soup or dinner.

Prepare to fall in love with this chewy, salty and delicious sourdough focaccia. My husband has declared this “the best bread EVER” and it always disappears within hours of coming out of the oven.

Making sourdough focaccia is perfect for beginners – the dough is very forgiving and easy to work with and you don’t have to worry about shaping or scoring!

This recipe needs a bit of time. You can either start making your focaccia early in the morning and bake it at dinnertime or make in the evening, let the dough rise overnight in the fridge and bake the following day.

Follow whichever method works best for you bearing in mind that the dough will rise more quickly in warm weather and take longer in winter.

SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA INGREDIENTS

Here’s what you will need to make this easy bread recipe. Bear in mind that this is quite a wet dough which won’t hold its shape but will spread out flat before baking.

• Active sourdough starter – you can buy sourdough starter online, get some from a friend or a local bakery.
• Flour – for this simple sourdough focaccia I have used white bread flour.
• Salt – ideally fine sea salt
• A little honey (optional – leave out for a vegan focaccia)
• Water – filtered, bottled or tap water that has been boiled and left to cool
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt

USEFUL TOOLS

• Digital scales are needed for accurate measuring
• Large jar if you are making your own starter (I love these Weck Jars)
• Spatula for mixing your starter
• Dough whisk for mixing bread dough
• A 9×13 pan (I use this one for all my sheet pan cakes)
• Reusable liners (I have one cut to the shape of the pan to use again and again)

HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA

Full measurements and instructions can be found on theprintable recipe cardat the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!

START BY FEEDING YOUR STARTER

Feed your starter then leave for 4 hours, or until doubled in size. Try to use your starter at its peak, before it starts to sink again and remember to always keep some of your starter in the fridge for further baking!

SOURDOUGH STARTER FLOAT TEST
An active starter should double in size and be bubbly within a few hours of being fed. To check it is ready to bake with, add a spoonful of active starter to a glass of water. If it floats to the top it is ready!

PREPARE THE DOUGH

Measure 100g of bubbly starter in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the water and honey and mix well. Add the flour and salt. Mix until it is fully incorporated and you have a shaggy dough. Cover the bowl and rest for 30 minutes.

STRETCH AND FOLD THE DOUGH

Pull a section of the dough from the underside and stretch it upwards. Fold this over the rest of the dough. Rotate the bowl as you do this so you stretch the entire dough.

BULK FERMENTATION

Drizzle a bowl or a pyrex dish with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and rub with more olive oil to coat. A straight edged dish will give you a better clue as to how much the dough has risen.

Cover the bowl with clean towel and leave to rise at room temperature for 4 -18 hours or until the dough has doubled. The temperature of your kitchen and strength of your starter will play a big role in this!

SECOND RISE

Line a 9×13 inch pan (I use a reusable liner) and drizzle with oil to coat.Gently release the dough from the bowl and place in the prepared pan.Use both hands to scoop up the dough in the middle of the tray, folding in half.

Fold dough into thirds to form a rectangle (letter fold) and turn over seam-side down.

Cover with a large plastic bag and leave to rise at room temperature until nearly doubled and filling most of the pan (4-6 hours).

BAKE YOUR FOCACCIA

Preheat the oven to 425ºF / 220C. Dip your fingers in olive oil then press deeply into the dough to dimple it – this is my favourite part!

Sprinkle generously with salt and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the focaccia is golden. Lift the bread using the overhanging liner onto a cooling rack and leave for 30 minutes before slicing.

CUSTOMISE YOUR FOCACCIA

• Add herbs such as rosemary or sage
• Fold chopped olives or sun-dried tomatoes into the dough
• Top the dough with sliced vegetables to create a visual feast (a.k.a focaccia art)
• Use flavoured olive oils – truffle oil is wonderful

Storing Sourdough Focaccia

Cover the cooled focaccia in a clean tea towel and store at room temperature – it will keep for 2-3 days.

I prefer to slice the entire loaf and then freeze it – that way you can toast slices directly from frozen whenever the fancy takes you.

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