Sourdough focaccia one of the best things to make with your starter. It’s really easy despite it being a very high-hydration dough. The dough is mixed by hand with stretches and folds, and given a long slow ferment. It’s generously coated in olive oil before baking which gives it a crispy, fried crust that’s a beautiful contrast with the soft interior. The contrast in texture of a sourdough focaccia is what makes it so great!

side view of focaccia bread with salt and olives.

Like most of my sourdough recipes, I spread the process over two days so the dough gets a long cold rest in the fridge overnight, which is where most of the flavor comes from.

Key ingredients and why

Find the full amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a quick rundown of what each ingredient is doing.

All-purpose flour. A strong all-purpose flour works well here. Check the protein level, because a flour of at least 11% protein gives you the gluten strength to hold all that water. You can also use bread flour, or a mix of bread and all-purpose flour.
Water. This is a very high hydration dough at around 91%, so a lot of water goes in. That much water makes traditional kneading pretty hard, which is exactly why we use a stretch and fold method instead. You can work out the hydration yourself for other sourdough recipes with this hydration calculator.
Salt. Salt adds flavor and tightens up the gluten, giving the slack dough a little more strength. Flaky sea salt goes on top later as well.
Active sourdough starter. This is what leavens the bread, so it needs to be active and lively. If yours is sluggish, start with my guide to sourdough starter.
Extra-virgin olive oil. The dough is coated generously in olive oil before baking. This is what crisps and fries the crust, and it adds a lot of flavor, so use a good one.
Fresh rosemary and olives. These are the toppings for a classic rosemary and olive focaccia, but they swap out easily. Sun-dried tomatoes, capers, cherry tomatoes, other fresh herbs, onions, garlic, or thinly sliced potatoes all work beautifully.

Equipment

There isn’t a mixer needed for this recipe as it’s easily stretched and folded by hand. You will need a baking pan or a cast-iron skillet to bake the focaccia bread in. This recipe is using 9x13inch USA metal baking pan.

Baker’s schedule

The full timings are in the recipe card, but here is the overall shape of the two days. These are flexible, so tweak them to fit around your day.

Day 1. Feed the starter, then mix and stretch the dough in a large bowl. The dough then goes into the fridge for a long cold proof overnight. This cold proof is the part that brings the flavor, so don’t skip it.

Day 2. Press the cold dough into an oiled pan, then leave it to rise until puffy. Dimple it, add your toppings, and bake.

How to make sourdough focaccia

Feed your starter so it’s nice and active when you need it.
In a large bowl, add water, sourdough starter, flour and salt. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to combine it all together into a wet and shaggy dough.
Over a period of 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, one every 30 minutes.

In each set, stretch and fold the dough over 4-5 times, turning the bowl each turn.

The first set of folds will be very messy and the dough will tear. As time passes, the dough will become more and more elastic.

Each time the dough sits, cover the bowl to stop the top of the dough from drying out.

Bulk fermenting

Let the dough bulk ferment at room temperature until bubbly, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

Shaping

Tip the cold dough into a well-oiled pan, rest for 10 minutes, then press it out to the edges with oiled fingers.

Let it rise until jiggly and puffy, then dimple all over with oiled fingers, pushing right to the bottom.

Dimpling and topping

Drizzle with olive oil and press in the olives and rosemary, and sprinkle with flaky salt.

Press the olives quite deep into the dough so they don’t dry out.

Baking

Bake the focaccia until puffed and deep golden brown and the bread pulls away from the edges of the baking dish.

Topping ideas

Rosemary and olive is the classic, but the dough is super good with other toppings too!

Sun-dried tomatoes
Caramelized onion and goat cheese
Basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto
Thinly sliced potatoes
Fresh cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced red onion

Tips

Use enough oil. The crisp, fried base is the best part of focaccia, and that only happens with a genuinely generous amount of olive oil in the pan. This is not the place to be shy with it.

Watch the dough, not the clock. Both rises depend heavily on your kitchen temperature. Too cold and the dough can be underproofed and leave you with a denser crumb. Too warm and it can overproof and lose its structure, so go by the visual cues: bubbly after the bulk ferment, jiggly and puffy before baking.

Serving and storing

Fresh focaccia is wonderful just as it is, with the salt, good olive oil, and herbs. It also splits beautifully for sandwiches, and the dough can be pressed out thinner to use as a pizza base.

Day-old focaccia rewarms well in the oven and makes a great bread for dipping into soups or mopping up pasta sauces. Store it wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Related recipes

Easy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

5 from 9 votes

Elien Lewis

This simple sourdough focaccia recipe has a soft interior and a deliciously crispy, olive oil-fried crust. It is high hydration but easy to make by hand. Baked in a 9×13" pan.

Print Pin

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 25

Additional Time 18

Total Time 18 50

Servings

Ingredients

Sourdough starter

25 g sourdough starter
50 g all-purpose flour
50 g water

Dough

530 g all-purpose flour
480 g water
All the sourdough starter around 100g
8 g salt

Toppings

Kalamata olives
Fresh rosemary
Flaky salt