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Home › Recipe

Published: Feb 20, 2025 by Elizabeth Marek · This post may contain affiliate links ·

Easy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

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sourdough focaccia pin
sourdough focaccia pin

This sourdough focaccia recipe takes ZERO effort. No kneading is required, just time. Mix the ingredients together, plop them in a bowl to rise in a warm spot, transfer to your pan with a metric ton of olive oil, fresh rosemary, and salt, let the dough rise again, and then bake! So soft, fluffy, chewy, and has the perfect crispy crust.

Sourdough focaccia might be my favorite thing to make with an active sourdough starter, aside from my sourdough bread.

This really great recipe for beginner sourdough makers. It's endlessly adaptable. Switch up the rosemary for thyme, fresh onions, olives, ham and cheese, bacon, garlic... the options are endless! If you love my easy focaccia recipe, you are going to LOVE my sourdough focaccia recipe!

My favorite thing about making sourdough focaccia is that if you or someone you know has issues digesting gluten (like my dad), they may have an easier time eating sourdough-based products. The reason is that the fermentation process involved in breaking down some of the gluten proteins in the flour makes it potentially less likely to trigger digestive issues compared to regular wheat bread. Read more about why some gluten-sensitive people can still eat sourdough bread.

Sourdough Focaccia Ingredients

Sourdough focaccia is made with really simple ingredients that you probably already have on hand. 

Sourdough starter - The #1 ingredient you need for success is a happy, active, bubbly sourdough starter. If you haven't used your starter in a while, make sure you've fed it for a few days before you need it so it's nice and strong. If you don't have a sourdough starter, you'll need to make one! It takes about a week to get your starter ready to use. 

Bread Flour - I love Caputo brand bread flour which is not processed like the flour in the USA and doesn't have any additives. You can absolutely use all purpose flour if you prefer. Bread flour will result in a chewier bread while all-purpose flour will make a softer, moister focaccia.

Olive oil - Focaccia needs a nice olive oil! I always use the olive oil from Costco because we go through SO MUCH and it works great for me but use whatever you have on hand. 

Flaky sea salt - For the best focaccia, you'll want a nice flake salt. I love Jacobsen sea salt which is made right here in Oregon!

Rosemary - To me, focaccia isn't right without some rosemary! But you can add any toppings you like! 

Honey - You can use sugar but honey adds a little flavor that is just fantastic!

Garlic Powder - I prefer to add the powder into the dough rather than sprinkling on top or adding raw garlic to the toppings because it tends to burn.

Making The Dough

This is a two-day process so make sure you allow yourself enough time for all the steps. I like to make my dough about 12 hours before I plan on baking my focaccia.

  1. Whisk the sourdough starter, warm water, and honey together in a bowl until everything is dissolved.
  2. Add in the flour, garlic powder, and salt and mix until a soft sticky dough forms. 
  3. Cover the top of the dough and let it rest for one hour in a warm place for 30 minutes.  focaccia bread ingredients in a mixing bowl
  4. Remove the wet dough from the bowl and fold it onto itself (see video) to form a ball. This is also called a coil fold and just helps gluten start to develop and strengthen. Sourdough focaccia dough in a bowl

    This is a high-hydration dough (contains a lot of water) so if it seems very loose and sticky compared to other doughs you have worked with, don't worry! That is the way it should be!
  5. Place the dough back into a large bowl. Make sure the sides of the bowl are lightly oiled.

For more focaccia inspiration, try my focaccia bread art recipe!

First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)

  1. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and leave it to rise overnight at room temperature for at least 12 hours. The dough may double or even triple in size so make sure it's big enough. The ideal room temperature is between 68ºF-80ºF. The warmer the room, the faster the dough will rise. sourdough focaccia dough rising in a bowl

Second Rise

  1. The next day, add a thin coat of olive oil onto the bottom of the sheet pan.
  2. Dump the dough onto the sheet pan and flip it over so all sides of the dough are coated in oil.sourdough focaccia dough on an oiled sheet pan
  3. No need to stretch the dough, let the dough rest for 1-2 hours at room temperature or until it's very puffy and has lots of bubbles developing.
  4. Preheat your oven to 425ºF (220ºC).

Baking The Focaccia

  1. Press your oiled fingers into the dough and gently wiggle to create deep divots throughout the surface of the dough.fingers pressing into focaccia dough
  2. Drizzle about two Tablespoons of olive oil on top of the dough so they settle into all those little divots we made.
  3. Add some flaked sea salt, finely chopped rosemary, or any other different toppings like shallots, cherry tomatoes or cheese. Check out my sourdough bread art tutorial for more inspiration.sourdough focaccia dough
  4. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
  5. For best results, remove the focaccia from the pan immediately and cool on a wire cooling rack so it keeps its crispy crust.

Recipe

sliced focaccia on a wooden board

Sourdough Focaccia

Sourdough focaccia is some of the easiest breads you can make! Just mix everything together, let it rise, dimple it with some olive oil, rosemary, and salt and bake! SOOO soft, chewy, and delicious!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Rising: 14 hours hours
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 12 pieces
Author: Elizabeth Marek

Ingredients

  • 75 grams Sourdough Starter
  • 400 grams Water Warmed to 110ºF
  • 25 grams Honey
  • 500 grams Bread Flour
  • 10 grams Salt
  • 2 grams Garlic Powder
  • 35 grams Olive Oil
  • 2 grams Fresh Rosemary Finely chopped
  • 2 grams Flake Salt

Instructions

  • 12 hours before you want to bake your sourdough, mix together the sourdough starter, warm water, and honey together in a large bowl.
  • Add in the flour, salt, and garlic powder and mix until combined.
  • Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. This allows time for the flour to hydrate and the gluten begin to activate.
  • With wet hands, pull the edges of the dough upwards until they won't stretch anymore then fold over onto itself. Repeat on all four sides of the dough. (see the video for a demonstration).
  • Cover the dough with lightly oiled plastic wrap and place it in a warm place (65ºF-80ºF) for 12 hours (overnight). Keep in mind that if your room is colder or hotter, the bread may rise slower or faster.
  • The next morning, cover your sheet pan in a thin even layer of olive oil.
  • Transfer the dough to the sheet pan and cover it again with plastic wrap to rise again for 1-2 hours or until very puffy and bubbly. The dough will spread as it rises.
  • Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
  • Dimple the top of the dough with oiled fingers. Drizzle the top of the dough with more olive oil, flake salt, and chopped rosemary (or toppings of your choice).
  • Bake your focaccia for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Remove the bread from the pan after it's done baking and let it cool on a wire rack before cutting into it.

Video

Notes

You can use bread flour or all-purpose flour. Bread flour will result in a chewier bread with a more open crumb. All-purpose flour will result in a softer bread with a less open crumb that is more moist.
You can use any toppings you prefer like fresh herbs, tomatoes, shallots, garlic, or other fresh vegetables. Use what you like!
The warmer the room, the faster your focaccia will rise. If your room is on the colder side, then it might take longer for the focaccia to rise so adjust your timeline accordingly.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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