Crisp and Fluffy Sourdough Focaccia
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
A very easy focaccia recipe made with sourdough starter. This sourdough focaccia is fluffy, crispy and very light. Switch up the toppings, turn it into a pizza, or even sandwiches! Very good!!
Like so many other recipes, focaccia making is almost more about technique than it is about ingredients.
Why Focaccia and What Makes a Good One?
Focaccia is an Italian rustic flatbread that is very versatile.
According to master baker Jeffrey Hamelman, it may have herbs and oil in the dough or it may be plain. Traditionally, people made it with whatever was in season or whatever they had on hand.
At its simplest and as is shown here, it is made with olive oil, rosemary, and a sprinkling of coarse salt. In Florence, it is popular to use grapes and fennel seeds (As described in “Bread, A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes”).
Many suggestions are shown below under “Variations and Topping Ideas” – just make sure not to overload your focaccia with too much toppings and ensure that you do spread them evenly.
So…there are a million focaccia recipes out there, but what really makes a good focaccia?
Well, my ideal focaccia it must be flavorful with a soft chewy fluffy interior yet crispy on the outside. I also prefer my focaccia on the thick side, but that’s not an absolute must.
A Few Important Tips!
- A long slow rise or overnight cold rise gives the dough that delicious taste that you can only get from a slow rise, much like my favorite NY Pizza dough. Some people may also use a preferment like a biga to get good flavor.
- To get a good crisp, you need the dough to be well developed (long rise) and also need to baking on a baking stone/steel OR in the bottom third of your oven.
- A fluffy interior comes from a long final rise, and the right amount of starter or yeast (must be active)!
- Also, we can’t forget, a high amount of water is going to help give you that beautiful crumb inside.
- Using the right amount of dough for your pan will give you the desired thickness.
This recipe also contains a bit of oil in the dough for more of a chewy crumb.
I love focaccia because it is delicious, soft and chewy on the inside with a crispy crust, and it is so incredibly versatile. Change up the toppings or make it into a sandwich. The options are plentiful.
Read more tips from an Italian baker who shares a top 10 list of tips.
Variations and Toppings Ideas
Here are some focaccia topping ideas (always with salt and a drizzle of olive oil).
- Rosemary, coarse salt, and olive oil
- Red and green grapes with fennel seeds 🍇
- Pesto and chicken 🐓 (precooked chicken)
- Pizza sauce and cheese 🧀
- Olives and lemon zest 🫒
- Oregano, red pepper flakes 🌿
- Garlic, olive oil, and fresh herbs
- Tomatoes, olive, feta 🍅
- Roasted eggplant or zucchini (lightly roasted) 🍆
- Fresh tomatoes, cheese, basil
- Cherry tomatoes and pesto
- Sausage and cheese (precooked meat)
- Artichoke and spinach
- Caramelized onions 🧅
- Pepperoni and cheese
- Roasted garlic and oregano 🧄
- Balsamic reduction
- Thinly sliced potatoes and rosemary 🥔
Focaccia Sandwich Ideas
Thick sourdough focaccia can be easily sliced open to make a great sandwich or, for bigger appetites, use 2 pieces. You can also make paninis by grilling any of these sandwich combinations.
Some ideas for making a delicious focaccia sandwich include:
- Mixed cheeses
- Ham and cheese
- Caprese (tomato and cheese)
- Meatball sandwiches
- Italian meats (ie, proscuitto, capicola, salami, etc)
- Bacon, lettuce, and tomato
- Club sandwiches with turkey
- Grilled vegetables with pesto
- Egg salad or chicken salad
- Cuban sandwich
- Chicken breast with spinach, roasted peppers
Leftover Focaccia
I doubt you’ll have leftover, but just in case here are some ideas….
- Cut and use focaccia to make plain croutons or flavored croutons
- Dry the focaccia and make breadcrumbs (plain focaccia)
Storage, Make Ahead, Freezing
The dough can be made the night before and is best tasting after a long cold proof in the refrigerator.
After baking, the focaccia is best enjoyed the same day.
To freeze place slices in freezer bag for up to 1 to 3 months.
You can flash freeze sliced focaccia on a cookie sheet and then transfer the pieces to a freezer bag or you can wrap pieces in plastic wrap and then place in sealed contained in the freezer.
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
📖 Recipe
Thick Soft yet Crispy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
Equipment
- 13 x 9, baking sheet, small sheet pan, casserole dish For rectangular focaccia
- 10-inch cake pans (two) For round focaccia
- large mixing bowl
- baking stone or steel optional but highly recommended
Ingredients
- 125 grams (0.5 cups) mature sourdough starter
- 375 grams (1 2/3 cups) water
- 10 grams (2.5 tsp) sugar
- 500 grams (4 cups) bread flour
- 15 grams (1 tbsp) olive oil
- 10 grams (1 3/4 tsp) salt
Instructions
To Mix the Dough
- Mix the mature sourdough starter, sugar, water and flour into a shaggy mass of dough and set aside, covered, in a warm spot for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour has passed, add the salt and olive oil to the dough.
- Mix the dough well after the salt and oil have been incorporated. I like to scrunch/pinch it in, you can use your fingers to press it in and keep folding the dough until incorporated.
First Rise of the Dough
- Place dough in a covered container to let rise for a total of about 1.5 hours in a warm spot. Every 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough. Try to form a square like shape – a square baking dish helps here. You can also coil fold the dough, which is a simple and very effective technique.
Final Rise of the Dough
- Place the dough on your baking sheet (which must be well-oiled) and allow it to rest at room temperature in a warm location for 3 to 4 hours until it's nice and bubbly. It should spread out naturally on its own, but if it needs some help, gently stretch it.
- If you are using cake pans (10-inch), divide dough in half and gently place into the cake pans. (500 grams or 1 lb of dough in each one).
- Alternatively, instead of the 3 to 4-hour warm rise, place in the refrigerator overnight (or up to 2-3 days), cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap (so it doesn't stick to the dough), and bake the next day. The focaccia can be baked directly from the refrigerated state.
Baking the Focaccia
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and insert a baking stone or baking steel if you have one, in the center of the oven.
- Before baking, dimple the top of the focaccia heavily by pressing your fingers in the dough and pushing all the way down to the bottom. Do this repeatedly all over the top of the focaccia.
- Top your focaccia with olive oil, salt and rosemary (or whatever topping you'd like) and bake on the baking stone or steel for about 20 minutes until golden and the bottom is crispy.
- IMPORTANT: If you don't have a baking stone or steel, ensure you are baking the focaccia in the bottom third of your oven so the bottom gets nice and crispy.
- To finish, drizzle the baked focaccia with additional olive oil l
Hello! is mature starter discard? or just fed starter?
thanks!
Karen
Omg, this was delicious! I used rosemary olive oil on the bottom of the baking pan, and after dimpling, I used some grated parm, Mediterranean sea salt, and black garlic (from Trader Joes). My family loved it! My only problem, I think, is that I used a glass baking dish and the bread stuck to the bottom and didn’t brown much, even with the pizza stone. Next time I will use parchment paper as was suggested earlier. Thank you for this tasty bread recipe!
Made this into a Detroit style pizza and it was incredible! The fluffiest, softest pizza with the best crispy crust!
Do you do cold ferment for a day in the refrigerator in a mixing bowl or in the 9x 13 pan that you plan to bake it in? Looking forward to trying your recipe.
You could do either way, but I highly prefer the final rise to be done in the fridge. Plus baking it straight from the fridge when it’s cold gives you even more oven spring.
This recipe was so easy and it turned out just like you said! Delicious! It was beautiful to look at too! Thanks I’ll absolutely make again!
I’m just a bit confused. Do you preheat the stone then put the uncooked dough on that, then dimple?
Preheat your stone about one hour before the end of the final rising. If you decided to refrigerate the focaccia, preheat the oven one hour before you want to bake it. After it reaches the baking temperature, place your pan with dough or tray with dough on top of the stone and bake. You will dimple the dough just before baking – hope that helps.
Just finding this recipe. Cant wait to try it. Just wondering i should preheat my stone. I usually do when i make my pizza crust. Didnt know if this aids in bread being too crispier
Yes, if you have one preheat it and place in the center of the oven. It will help for sure.
This recipe was Devine. Everyone loved it . I did a cold fermentation in the fridge for two days.
I opted for the overnight rise in my refrigerator, however it hasn’t risen at all. Please clarify if the overnight rise is in addition to, or instead of the 3 to 4 hour warm rise. And is it possible that the cold dough is salvageable if I let it rise at room temperature now?
Thank you!
Yes! Absolutely salvageable and will be even better. If it didn’t rise enough before refrigeration please let it come to room temp and rise until nice and puffy. Timing will depend on room temp – enjoy!
I’m excited to try this! I’m putting it in the fridge but does it need to be covered? And if so, with a towel or something to keep moisture in?
Yes, I would cover it loosely with plastic wrap.
I’d love to try this recipe, I’ve the 13×9 inch pan, so what is the right recipe for that pan? Would the one with 500gr of flour work? Thank you
Yes, I used the entire 2 pounds (1000 kg) of dough for 13×9 inch pan – it’s nice and thick. So to answer your question, yes the recipe includes 500 grams of flour for that size pan along with the other ingredients.
How is 10 gr of sugar and/or salt converted to 2.5 t for the sugar and the salt is saying 1 3/4 t ??
10 grams is 2 teaspoons, so I don’t understand your conversions?
The conversions are automatic and estimated/calculated using the recipe card. Estimating this manually, salt is 6 grams per teaspoon (so 10 grams/6 grams = 1.6666 teaspoons) and sugar is ~4 grams per teaspoon (so 10 grams/4 grams = 2.5 teaspoons). Does that make sense?
This was so simple and absolutely delicious! Will absolutely be a new staple in our house! Thank you!
Thank you 😊 !
We love this recipe!! I eat it for breakfast , lunch and dinner. My favorite way to eat it is to spread it with herbed cream cheese. All my friends have asked for the link to the recipe so they can make it, too. My only problem has been with the bread sticking to the bottom of my pan, even when well oiled. I solved this by putting a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Now it’s easy to get out of the pan and I haven’t noticed any difference in the way the bread bakes.
Oh, that’s a good tip! Thanks for letting us know. I’m so glad you all love it – it’s one of my absolute favorites
This bread is amazing alongside pretty much any meal! We’ve enjoyed it with a chicken caesar salad, pasta, and made sandwiches with it. I can’t wait to prepare it to have with some soup in the colder months! The rosemary and flakey salt variation is my favorite. We’ve also tried it with Italian seasoning and that was good too. I think it would be very good with jalapeños and cheddar cheese, or garlic cloves and parmesan cheese. This comes together so easily too. It also stays very fresh tasting and soft for days after making unlike a lot of homemade breads. Try it, you won’t be disappointed!
Thanks!! I absolutely love this focaccia also!!
Hello Marie. Thank you for sharing this recipe to the public! It seems like everyone loves this recipe, and I am very interested in trying it.
I do have a question. It is absolutely my first time to try making a focaccia bread. I am a little confused about where to get or how to make the mature sourdough starter. Would you please share this with me?
Thanks 😄😄
Hi Felipe, I made mine years ago using the Tartine method but you can also use this site or this one – both are very popular sourdough sites.
This bread is utterly delicious 🤤
Thank you so much!! I absolutely love it also!
Hi! I haven’t made this yet but could you use discard starter or should it be the active/just fed starter?
It should be active starter. It could be adapted to use discard but I haven’t tested it yet and it would need to include dry yeast to be added if you used discard.