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Crumb structure of sourdough focaccia
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4.95 from 19 votes

Thick Soft yet Crispy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

Thick, soft and fluffy yet crispy long rise focaccia is absolutely delicious and so versatile. Eat plain, change up the toppings, or serve as a pizza or sandwich. Makes about 1000 grams of dough (or ~2 pounds of dough).
Prep Time2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Final Rise4 hours
Total Time6 hours 50 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6 slices
Calories: 445kcal
Author: Marie

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 mature sourdough starter
  • 375 grams water
  • 10 grams sugar
  • 500 grams bread flour
  • 15 grams olive oil
  • 10 grams salt

For the Topping

  • 1/4 cup olive oil or as needed (and to drizzle after baked)
  • 1 teaspoon salt coarse flaky salt is recommended for topping but use what you have on hand.
  • rosemary (fresh or dried) as needed

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 in 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) 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.
    sourdough focaccia bread in tray about to be baked
  • 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

Notes

Nutrition calculated at 1/6 of the recipe using the 13x9 pan. 
May use a baking sheet or pan that is 13 x 9 (for 1000 grams/2 pounds of dough) or two cake pans (10-inch) holding 500 grams/1 pound of dough each. 
Note that the focaccia will be a little bit thinner using the cake pans (but also less calories per slice!). 
Slightly adapted from Baking Bread in the Netherlands 

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Sodium: 1039mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg