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Easy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

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This Sourdough Focaccia has a soft and fluffy texture on the inside and crisp and chewy on the outside. It is a naturally leavened, no-knead method that can be made in just one day! 

View of full sourdough focaccia

This focaccia bread is beginner-friendly and requires no special equipment. It is a great first recipe to try when baking sourdough because it doesn’t need any fancy shaping or scoring. There is no Dutch oven needed, just a simple 9×13 pan, which you likely already have at home! It is really simple to make, but the results are an insanely delicious, chewy, soft, sourdough bread. 

Focaccia variations

What I love most about focaccia is how easy it is to make different flavors and variations! I have done a lot of experimenting with replacing some of the water in the dough with other liquids and have come up with some amazing results like the Salsa Sourdough FocacciaMargherita Pizza Sourdough Focaccia, and sweet versions like the Sourdough Caramel Apple Focaccia and Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Sourdough Focaccia. I love that you can easily change the flavor of the dough, and also add on different toppings. This focaccia recipe is like a canvas for you to add any toppings you’d like, or just keep it simple. 

Why you will love this easy sourdough focaccia recipe

  • This focaccia can be make in one day or leave it in the fridge to bake the next day. 
  • There is no yeast required, it is naturally leavened with a sourdough starter. 
  • No special equipment or Dutch oven required. Just a 9×13 baking dish. 
  • This is a no-knead recipe, so no stand mixer or hand kneading.
  • You can get creative with the toppings or keep it simple. 
Slices of sourdough focaccia next to each other

What is Focaccia?

Focaccia is a flatbread that is made similarly to pizza dough. The bread is made in a pan, usually something like a 9×13 dish or round cast iron pan. The bread is fluffy and chewy with a thin crispy crust. It has signature dimples in the dough and has a drizzle of olive oil to help create the crispy, golden brown crust. You can make focaccia plain, or add sweet or savory toppings such as herbs, onions, olives, or tomatoes. It is delicious as served by itself, as a side for soups, pastas, and more, or used to make a delicious sandwich. 

Focaccia topping ideas

Adding toppings to your focaccia is completely optional, but it can be fun to experiment with different flavor combinations. The possibilities are endless, I’ve even made a cheeseburger focaccia topped with ground beef and other burger toppings and a ham and swiss Hawaiian focaccia! Feel free to get creative, but here are some ideas: 

  • Sprinkle with your favorite herbs such as fresh rosemary, oregano, or thyme. 
  • Add tomatoes, cherry tomatoes look really pretty or you can even do slices of tomatoes. 
  • Add garlic, onions, or shallots on top. 
  • Sprinkle with cheese such as parmesan or mozzarella. 
  • Use olives, red peppers, capers or artichoke hearts- or a combination! 
  • Get creative! Use your favorite toppings or a combination to make a flavor you and your family will love. Or just add a sprinkle of sea salt on top to keep it simple. 
overhead view of sourdough focaccia

How to make a sourdough starter

If you are new to baking sourdough, you will first need a sourdough starter. It is really simple to make, but it does take some time and patience! With this Easy Sourdough Starter recipe, you can have a sourdough starter that is ready to bake bread in about two weeks. If you’d like to learn more about my easy, no-stress method of sourdough baking, check out my online Sourdough Course! Inside, I will walk you through exactly how to make a starter and bake your first loaf of sourdough bread. 

Tools to make this recipe

9×13 pan– Glass or metal 9×13 inch pans will both work for baking focaccia. 

Kitchen Scale –When making sourdough bread, I always recommend weighing your ingredients on a kitchen scale for more accurate measurements.  

Cooling Rack – Using a wire rack helps the bread cool quicker by allowing air under the bread. 

2 quart proofing container– This is the easiest way to tell when the dough has risen 50% for the first rise.

Tips for success when making Sourdough Focaccia Bread

  • Make sure to 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. Using warm ingredients in the dough will help with this as well. 
  • If you want to bake the next day, place the dough in the fridge after the first rise. Remove the dough from the fridge in the morning. Place in an oiled 9×13″ pan and let rise until puffy and doubled in size.
  • Add dough to a straight edge container so you can easily see when the dough has risen 50%. 
Slices of sourdough focaccia

Ingredients for Sourdough Focaccia 

  • Water – Either filtered or tap water will work. Despite what some people say, I use tap water when baking sourdough bread with no problem. 
  • Sourdough starter – Use an active and bubbly sourdough starter that has doubled in size. 
  • Bread flour – I prefer bread flour, but in a pinch, you can swap bread flour for all-purpose flour but I recommend cutting the amount of liquid by 25-50 grams as all-purpose flour does not absorb as much water. 
  • Salt – Any type of salt will work. 
  • Olive oil – Using oil creates the signature crunchy outside of the focaccia. 

How to make Sourdough Focaccia 

In a large mixing bowl or straight edge container, mix together the water, active and bubbly sourdough starter, and salt until the starter is dissolved. Add the bread flour and mix until a shaggy dough is formed.  Let sit in a warm spot covered for about 30 minutes. I like to cover with a lid or dinner plate instead of a tea towel so that the dough doesn’t dry out.

focaccia dough after being mixed

Perform 2-3 sets of stretch and folds to develop the dough with at least a 30 minute rest in between each set. To stretch and fold the dough, grab one side with a damp hand and gently shimmy the dough up, and then fold it on itself. Repeat this 3 more times rotating the bowl 90 degrees each time. 

focaccia dough in a square container ready to go into a pan

Continue to let the dough rise for bulk fermentation until it is risen 50% and is jiggly with bubbles forming around the sides of the bowl. With dough in the mid 70’s F, the first rise (including stretch and folds) will take about 5 hours total. 

sourdough focaccia dough in a rectangle pan

Spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick spray and then coat with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Dump the dough into the pan. Flip once to coat both sides with oil. Cover and let sit in a warm spot until it doubles in size and is puffy. With the dough staying in the mid 70’s Fahrenheit, this will take another 2 hours. 

sourdough focaccia dough in a 9 by 13 inch pan

Once the dough is puffy and ready, preheat the oven to 425 F.

sourdough focaccia before baking with dimples

Spread an additional 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on top of the dough. Dimple the dough with your fingers and bake at 425 F for about 40 minutes or until cooked through. 

Let cool on a cooling rack and serve warm! 

Sample schedule

This is based on the dough temperature being in the mid 70s. 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.

StepTime
Feed sourdough starter a 1:5:5 ratio (15 grams starter: 70 grams flour: 70 grams water)10 pm
Mix dough together8 am
Stretch & Folds8:30-9:30 am
Add dough to 9×13 pan1 pm
Bake3 pm

How to store Sourdough Focaccia

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. To reheat, you can warm it in the microwave, or to get a crispy crust again add it back to a 400-degree oven or air fryer for a few minutes until warmed through.

More sourdough focaccia recipes

Recipe card

Slices of sourdough focaccia on a white background.

Sourdough Focaccia

Emily Christensen
This Sourdough Focaccia has a soft and fluffy texture on the inside and crisp and chewy on the out. It is a naturally leavened, no-knead method that can be made in just one day!
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Rise Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 55 minutes
Course Bread
Cuisine Italian
Servings 12 servings
Calories 217 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 400 grams water 1 ¾ cups
  • 10 grams salt 1 ½ teaspoon
  • 150 grams active sourdough starter ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons
  • 500 grams bread flour 3 ⅔ cups
  • 60 grams olive oil, divided 4 tablespoons

Instructions
 

  • In a bowl or straight edge container, mix together the water, active and bubbly sourdough starter, and salt until the starter is dissolved. Add the bread flour and mix until a shaggy dough is formed.  Let sit in a warm spot covered for about 30 minutes. I like to cover with a lid or dinner plate instead of a tea towel so that the dough doesn’t dry out.
    400 grams water, 10 grams salt, 150 grams active sourdough starter, 500 grams bread flour
  • Perform 2-3 sets of stretch and folds to develop the dough with at least a 30 minute rest in between each set. To stretch and fold the dough, grab one side with a damp hand and gently shimmy the dough up, and then fold it on itself. Repeat this 3 more times rotating the bowl 90 degrees each time. 
  • Continue to let the dough rise for bulk fermentation until it is risen 50% and is jiggly with bubbles forming around the sides of the bowl. With dough in the mid 70’s ℉, the first rise (including stretch and folds) will take about 5 hours total. 
  • Spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick spray and then coat with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Dump dough into the pan. Flip once to coat both sides with oil. Cover and let sit in a warm spot until it doubles in size and is puffy. With the dough staying in the mid 70's Fahrenheit this will take another 2 hours. 
    60 grams olive oil, divided
  • Once the dough is puffy and ready, preheat the oven to 425℉
  • Spread 2 Tablespoons of olive oil on top of the dough. Dimple the dough with your fingers and bake for about 25-30 minutes in a dark pan (a glass pan takes about 40 minutes) or until cooked through. The temperature of the dough should read between 195F-210℉.
  • Let cool on a cooling rack and serve warm! 

Notes

  • See sample schedule included in the post above.
  • Make sure to 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. Using warm ingredients in the dough will help with this as well. 
  • If you want to bake the next day, place the dough in the fridge after the first rise. Remove the dough from the fridge in the morning. Place in a oiled 9×13″ pan and let rise until puffy and doubled in size.
  • Add dough to a straight edge container so you can easily see when the dough has risen 50%.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 217kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 6gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 326mgFiber: 1g
Keyword active starter, one day, same day, sourdough starter
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More sourdough recipes

8 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Focaccia directions were easy to follow. I placed the dough in the fridge after the first rise! Then on counter for a few hours. I made w 1/2 water and 1/2 pickle juice and topped with shallots and rosemary! Yum!

    1. I did a quick google search to see and I didn’t get much. I’ve never tried to bake focaccia in one my concern would be that you want olive oil on your focaccia for baking so it would need to be in some sort of pan vs just on a flat surface. If you find something and try it let us know how it goes!

  2. This was my first recipe I made with my first time making a starter from scratch.
    Super easy. Came out delicious. I did add fresh rosemary and garlic to top.

  3. 5 stars
    I have made this many times now after giving up trying to make traditional sourdough loaves. I’ve had several successful experiments, including one with fresh roasted green chile, garlic, and cheese and am going to try a Red Chile Enchilada version soon!

    I’m still very new to sourdough and wondered if you have any advice for using more starter and reducing the water and bread flour accordingly? I always have 50-75 grams of starter left over when making this recipe and feeding the starter and it usually ends up in the compost bin.

    Love your recipes and plan to make more of them soon!

  4. I made this today and it turned out beautiful. My husband liked it more than the loaves I’ve been making. Started simple but I am now anxious to try mix ins!

5 from 2 votes

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