This post may contain affiliate links . Read my full Disclosure Policy.
This Salsa Sourdough Focaccia isn’t your average focaccia. Swapping some of the water for salsa adds bright, fresh flavor right into the dough—think tomato, garlic, and onion baked into every bite. It’s soft and fluffy on the inside, crisp and cheesy on the outside, and packed with flavor.
Save & Summarize
It’s based on my Same Day Sourdough Focaccia, but with a twist that brings bold flavor in every bite. Topped with melty cheese and optional extras like tomatoes, pickled red onions, and jalapeños, it’s an easy, beginner-friendly bake that skips the commercial yeast and comes together in just one day. If you love playing with focaccia flavors, don’t miss my Margherita Pizza Sourdough Focaccia, Pesto Sourdough Focaccia, or Bruschetta Sourdough Focaccia too!
Table of Contents
Important Ingredients & Substitutions Sourdough Salsa Focaccia Bread
- Salsa – I’ve tested this recipe with both Jack’s Cantina Salsa and Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa—both work great. Just make sure to use a salsa that isn’t too thick. You want one that has enough liquid, or the dough will end up too tight and dry. Cantina-style salsas are ideal since they tend to have a looser consistency with plenty of flavorful liquid to hydrate the dough properly. The spicier the salsa, the more heat you’ll taste in the final bread—so choose one that matches your spice preference.
- Garlic salt – I use garlic salt instead of regular salt for extra garlic flavor although you can use regular table salt.
- Sourdough starter – Use an active starter that is bubbly and doubled in size.
- Bread flour – I prefer using bread flour for all my sourdough bakes because it gives the dough better structure and a chewier texture. That said, you can substitute with all-purpose flour if needed, just reduce the water by 25 grams to account for the lower protein content.
Toppings for Salsa Focaccia
This salsa focaccia already has a ton of flavor from adding salsa to the dough, so if you want to keep it simple without any topping, you will still get a flavorful bread!
That said, I highly recommend topping it with shredded pepper jack cheese for an extra kick, along with sliced raw red onions or pickled red onions (here’s the recipe I use to make the pickled red onions). Cherry tomatoes and peppers are also a great addition for even more fresh flavor.
If you like a little heat, try mixing sliced jalapeños into the dough during the stretch and folds, or scatter a few on top before baking. If you like jalapeños, be sure to try my Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough Bread and Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough Biscuits.
Instructions to make Sourdough Salsa Focaccia
Step 1: In a 2-quart container with straight sides or a large clear bowl, mix the water, salsa, active starter, and salt using a danish dough whisk, large spoon, or your hands. Add the flour and mix until the dough is shaggy and no dry flour remains. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes in a warm spot (about 75°F).
Step 2: Perform 3 sets of stretch-and-folds, spaced 30 minutes apart. Use a damp hand to gently lift one side of the dough until you feel resistance, then fold it over onto itself. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat on the next side. Continue until you’ve stretched and folded all four sides—this completes one set.
Step 3: Let the dough continue to rise in a warm spot covered until it increases in size by 50%. At 75°F, this typically takes around 5 hours from initial mixing.
Step 4: Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, spreading it evenly across the bottom. Place the dough in the pan and flip it once to coat both sides with oil. Cover and let the dough rest in a warm spot until it is puffy and has doubled in size—about 3 hours at 75°F.
Step 5: Once the dough is visibly aerated and puffy, preheat the oven to 425°F.
Step 6: Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the dough. Top with cheese, tomatoes, and onions. Using your fingers, dimple the dough down to the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 190°F.
Tips for making Sourdough Salsa Focaccia
- Use fresh salsa with a higher water content for this recipe. Using too thick of a salsa may make it hard to mix and get the flour incorporated. If the salsa is in the fridge quickly heat it in the microwave until slightly warmed. Then make homemade sourdough flour tortillas to use up the extra salsa!
- Let the dough get puffy and rise fully. Baking it too early will result in a denser focaccia.
- To speed up the process, find a warmer spot for the dough to rise and use warm water when creating the dough.
- If you want to bake the next day, after the dough is placed in the pan cover it and place it in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature and get puffy before baking.
How to store focaccia bread
You can store the bread in an airtight container or bread box for 2-3 days on the counter or in the fridge for 5-7 days. When you are ready to eat it again, you can warm it up in the microwave or for a crisp crust place it in the oven or air fryer for a few minutes at 350°F.
You can also freeze the focaccia by wrapping it in foil or adding it to a freezer-safe bag. It will stay good for up to two months. To enjoy it again, let it defrost and then you can add it to a 350-degree oven for a few minutes until it gets warm and the outside is crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, most salsas will work, whether homemade or store-bought. The key is to choose one with enough liquid, since that replaces some of the water in the dough. Avoid super thick salsas that don’t have much moisture, or your dough may end up too tight. Cantina-style salsas are ideal because of their thinner consistency. I’ve tested this recipe with both Jack’s Cantina Salsa and Kirkland Signature Organic Salsa, and both work great.
It can be mild or spicy depending on your preferences. To make it spicier, add jalapeños to the dough and use a hot salsa.
Yes, you can! If you don’t have active starter ready, you can use 150 grams of sourdough discard and add 5–7 grams (about 2¼ teaspoons) of instant yeast to help the dough rise. Just note that the added yeast will speed up the fermentation, so your dough will proof much faster than if you were using active starter alone. Keep an eye on it and adjust timing as needed.
Because of the extra acidity from the salsa, this dough won’t rise quite as high or develop the large open crumb you might see in traditional sourdough focaccia. That’s totally normal! It should still bake up with a soft, fluffy interior—not dense. If your focaccia turns out dense, it likely needed more time to rise. Make sure to let the dough rest in a warm spot until it looks well-risen, puffy, and airy before baking.
Yes you can bake this in a 10 or 12 inch cast iron pan instead but you will likely need to bake it for about 40 minutes since the dough will be thicker.
Sample schedule
This is based on the dough temperature being at 75°F. There are many factors that can impact how slowly or quickly dough rises so use this as a guideline but look for the visual cues the dough is ready to move on.
| Step | Time |
| Feed sourdough starter a 1:5:5 ratio and leave at 72°F. (15 grams starter: 75 grams flour: 75 grams water) | 10 pm |
| Mix dough together | 8 am |
| Stretch & Folds | 8:30-9:30 am |
| Add dough to 9×13 pan | 1 pm |
| Bake | 4 pm |
Salsa Sourdough Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- 200 grams water, warm, ¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon
- 200 grams salsa, warm, ¾ cup + 1 Tablespoon
- 10 grams garlic salt, 1 ½ teaspoons
- 150 grams sourdough starter, ⅔ cup
- 500 grams bread flour, 3 ½ cups
- 60 grams olive oil, divided, ¼ cup, divided
- 105 grams pepper jack cheese, shredded , 1 cup, optional
- Optional topping, pickled red onions, cherry tomatoes, coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In a 2-quart container with straight sides or a large clear bowl, mix the water, salsa, active starter, and salt using a danish dough whisk, large spoon, or your hands. Add the flour and mix until the dough is shaggy and no dry flour remains. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes in a warm spot (about 75°F).200 grams water, 200 grams salsa, 10 grams garlic salt, 150 grams sourdough starter, 500 grams bread flour
- Perform 3 sets of stretch-and-folds, spaced 30 minutes apart. Use a damp hand to gently lift one side of the dough until you feel resistance, then fold it over onto itself. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat on the next side. Continue until you’ve stretched and folded all four sides—this completes one set.
- Let the dough continue to rise in a warm spot covered until it increases in size by 50%. At 75°F, this typically takes around 5 hours from initial mixing.
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan and pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, spreading it evenly across the bottom. Place the dough in the pan and flip it once to coat both sides with oil. Cover and let the dough rest in a warm spot until it is puffy and has doubled in size—about 3 hours at 75°F.
- Once the dough is visibly aerated and puffy, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the dough. Top with cheese, tomatoes, and onions. Using your fingers, dimple the dough down to the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 190°F.
- Remove from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
- Use fresh salsa with a higher water content for this recipe. Using too thick of a salsa may make it hard to mix and get the flour incorporated. If the salsa is in the fridge quickly heat it in the microwave until slightly warmed.
- Let the dough get puffy and rise fully. Baking it too early will result in a denser focaccia.
- To speed up the process, find a warmer spot for the dough to rise and use warm water when creating the dough.
- If you want to bake the next day, after the dough is placed in the pan cover it and place it in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature and get puffy before baking. Note the second rise will take longer since it has to come to room temperature first. Alternatively, you can let it almost finish the second rise before placing it in the fridge so it is ready to bake from the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Emily,
I really enjoyed your Super Bowl recipes, my family devoured a double batch of the pretzel bites. I really liked the two page abbreviated version that would print on two pages. I have a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves for all my recipes, one specifically for sourdough!
Bagels have been a big favorite in our home as well! Thanks for your help with ideas and direction.
So happy to hear you are enjoying the recipes! Thanks for sharing
This is by far my (and my husbands ) favorite sourdough recipe. We just love it so much! I make it all the time, so easy and I freeze it and it’s so delicious warmed up from frozen in the toaster until it’s crispy…… always have some made!
Happy to hear that! It’s one of my favorites too. Thanks for sharing
It was my first attempt at a complicated focaccia and it was amazing
So happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing.
Delicious!! Will definitely make again and I’m excited to play around with the toppings!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing Jennifer!
Made this today. It was so easy and delicious!
Would this work with gluten free sourdough starter??
I’m not keen on salsa, so I used marinara sauce instead. It was delicious!! My hubby loved it 😍. I used parmigiana and mozzarella cheese on top. Will definitely make this again!
I tried this, and it works pretty well! The dough was really very stiff, so I ended up adding at least twice as much water, which meant a longer baking time, but it did come out with a lovely bright orange color and a tender interior.