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A small, decorative loaf of sourdough focaccia using this recipe.
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Simple + Delicious Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

This simple sourdough focaccia recipe is easy to make, requires no overnight rise, and is absolutely delicious! It will have you dreaming of Italy in no time. Best served with pasta, soup, or on its own. Makes 1 round loaf. Or, 6-8 mini loaves.
Prep Time4 hours
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: sourdough focaccia recipe
Servings: 1 Loaf
Author: Antonia

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fed (ripe) sourdough starter
  • 1.5 cups cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp yeast
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan (optional, grated works too)
  • 4 Tbsp mix-ins (optional - ideas above)
  • coarse sea salt
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • sourdough focaccia toppings (optional - ideas above)

Instructions

Step 1

  • In a large bowl, mix the sourdough starter, water (start with 1.5 cups), salt, and yeast.
  • Then, add 1 cup of flour. Stir until starting to mix. Then, add all the mix-ins + shredded parmesan. Stir together until well mixed.
  • Add the rest of the flour + mix (until there is no more dry flour remaining).
  • If the dough is too dry, add a bit of water - 1 Tbsp at a time. I usually need to use almost the full 2 cups of water (but I always start with 1.5 and go from there as needed). The dough should be soft and feel like an earlobe/baby’s bottom.
  • Then, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Have extra flour on standby as needed. Flour your hands and begin to knead. Start with a bench knife if the dough is too sticky to work with.
  • Add more flour as necessary until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky - meaning if you palm the dough, nothing clings to your palm. It should be a supple dough. Soft, not stiff. Again, like an earlobe/baby’s bottom. (Don’t clean your floured surface; you’re going to need it again.)
  • Oil the large bowl you used to mix your dough (using cooking spray or your preferred method), and let the dough rest in it for 60 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic or place it in a plastic-proofing bag.

Step 2

  • After the first rest, gently press the air out of the dough. Then, turn it back onto a lightly floured surface. Flour your hands, and knead the dough a few times. Don’t go overboard, just to pull it together and re-shape it.
  • Then, gently shape the dough into a ball.
  • With your rolling pin, shape the dough into a round-ish shape, 1/2 inch thick, for baking.
  • If you’re using a baking stone/pizza stone, place it on parchment paper. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
  • Alternative: If you don’t have a baking stone, roll it out to fit into a 9 x 13 pan instead of putting it on parchment paper. Likely, the dough won’t reach all the edges. That is okay. Let it rest in the pan for 30 min.
  • Alternative: Roll it into a “short log” and cut it into 6-8 pieces for minis. Using a rolling pin, roll out the minis into a square-ish shape, 1/2 inch thick. Put each mini on its own parchment paper, if using a baking stone. Or, arrange them on a baking sheet. Rest for 30 min.

During the Second Rest

  • Pre-heat your oven to 425°F.
  • If you are using a baking stone, make sure that it is in the oven so it can come to temp while the oven pre-heats. After the oven pre-heats, let it continue to pre-heat for another 45-ish minutes so the stone is sufficiently pre-heated too. Skip this part if you are using a baking sheet.
  • Then, wash, cut, and prepare any toppings you plan to use so they are ready to go once the dough has risen.

Step 3

  • Using your fingertips, spread 1 Tbsp of olive oil on the dough (less if you are doing minis). Then, make deep dimples in the dough with your fingertips. Don’t be too vigorous; you don’t want to deflate the dough, but they should be firm enough to keep the dimpled shape.
  • Sprinkle with coarse salt.
  • Add + arrange your other desired toppings. Once done, press down gently so they go into the dough a bit. They may pop off during the baking process if you miss this step.
  • Put the parchment + focaccia on the baking stone (or the baking sheet with focaccia into the oven). Bake for 18-20 minutes (15-18 minutes for the minis). Cook until golden brown, with an internal temp of 200°F and rising.
  • Cool on a wire rack.
  • Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
  • They are great on their own, served with a lovely meal, or cut open to use for sandwich bread.