Cheeseburger Sourdough Focaccia

4.50 from 8 votes

This sourdough focaccia bread features pickle juice in place of water making this bread super flavorful and then is topped with all your favorite cheeseburger toppings including tomatoes, onions, pickles, cheddar cheese, ground beef, and of course we can't forget the drizzle of burger sauce on top.

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Rise Time8

Total Time9 10

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Emily Christensen

Equipment

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter or Levain

15 grams active sourdough starter 1 Tablespoon
70 grams all-purpose or bread flour ½ cup
70 grams water ⅓ cup

Sourdough Focaccia

375 grams pickle juice (48oz jar of pickles) don't use one with sodium benzoate (see note below), 1½ cups
8 grams garlic salt 1 teaspoon
175 grams active sourdough starter ¾ cup
500 grams bread flour 3⅔ cups

Toppings

55 grams olive oil, divided 1/4 cup
110 grams onion, thinly sliced 1/2 cup
340 grams ground beef, cooked 2 cups
75 grams cherry tomatoes 1/2 cup
35 grams pickles, chopped 1/4 cup
200 grams cheddar cheese, freshly shredded 2 cups

Burger Sauce

80 grams mayonnaise 1/3 cup
30 grams ketchup 2 Tablespoons
5 grams white vinegar 1 teaspoon
5 grams pickle relish 1 teaspoon

Instructions

Feed starter the night before

The night before, about 10 hours before making the dough, make a levain or feed your sourdough starter and leave it covered at around 72℉ to double in size. Skip this step if your starter is already activated and ready to bake with.
15 grams active sourdough starter, 70 grams all-purpose or bread flour , 70 grams water

Prep Focaccia

Drain juice: Drain the pickle juice from the jar. If your pickles are stored in the refrigerator, warm the pickle juice until it reaches room temperature or is just slightly warm. If you don’t have enough pickle juice, add water to make up the difference.
Make sure to use pickles without sodium benzoate.
375 grams pickle juice (48oz jar of pickles)
Mix ingredients: In a bowl or straight-edge container, mix pickle juice, active and bubbly sourdough starter, and garlic salt with a danish dough whisk, spoon, or hands. Add the bread flour and mix until the flour is fully incorporated. The dough will be wet and sticky. Cover and let it sit at 75°F for 30 minutes.
375 grams pickle juice (48oz jar of pickles) 175 grams active sourdough starter, 8 grams garlic salt, 500 grams bread flour
Stretch and folds: Perform 3 sets of stretch and folds with 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 top of itself. Repeat this 3 more times, rotating the bowl 90 degrees each time. Cover and keep the dough warm between each set.
First rise: Continue to let the dough rise for the remainder of bulk fermentation until it has risen 50% and is jiggly with bubbles forming around the sides of the bowl.
At 75°F, this will take about 5 hours.
Prep pan: Grease a 9×13″ pan and add 2 Tablespoons of oil to the bottom of the pan. Dump the dough into the pan and flip it once to coat both sides in oil. Gently stretch the dough to fill the pan.
55 grams olive oil, divided
Second rise: Cover the pan and let it rise until it mostly fills the pan and is puffy.
At 75°F, this will take about 3 hours.
Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 425℉.
Prep fillings: Prep the fillings by sautéing the onions for a few minutes, then add the ground meat. Add seasonings and salt, and cook until browned. Dice the tomatoes and pickles, and shred the cheese.
340 grams ground beef, cooked, 75 grams cherry tomatoes, 110 grams onion, thinly sliced, 35 grams pickles, chopped, 200 grams cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the dough, then dimple it with your fingers, pressing all the way down to the bottom of the pan. Par-bake for 15 minutes.
Add the toppings to the top of the focaccia and return to the oven for an additional 18-20 minutes.
Mix together the burger sauce in a small bowl. Add it to a small baggie and cut the corner. Drizzle over the cooked focaccia.
80 grams mayonnaise, 30 grams ketchup, 5 grams white vinegar, 5 grams pickle relish
Let it cool on a cooling rack and serve warm!

Notes

When choosing pickles, avoid brands that contain sodium benzoate, it can inhibit fermentation. Look for cleaner or organic pickle brands, which typically don’t include it, or use homemade pickle juice instead. You will need a 48-oz pickle jar to get enough liquid.
Make sure to let the dough get puffy and rise in the pan. 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 ingredients. Learn more tips to keep your dough warm here.
If you want to bake the next day, you have two options. After the first rise, you can place the dough in the fridge and then transfer it to the pan for the second rise the next day. Or you can complete most of the second rise before covering and refrigerating for up to 12 hours. Then let the dough come to room temperature before dimpling and baking.
This recipe was updated on 1/27/26 to adjust the liquid from 400 grams to 375 grams and increase the starter from 150 grams to 175 grams. The salt was reduced from 10 grams to 8 grams. The focaccia is now parbaked before adding the toppings, which helps prevent excess grease from soaking into the bread and causing a gummy texture.

Nutrition