Easy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

Name: Easy Sourdough Focaccia
Prep time: 375 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 405 min
Ingredients: 345 g unbleached all-purpose flour; 148 g bread flour; 394 g room temperature water (divided); 9 g fine sea salt; 94 g sourdough starter (mature (a.k.a. at peak height)); 10 g extra virgin olive oil (plus more for topping); coarse sea salt; fresh or dried herbs; minced garlic; halved cherry tomatoes; sliced olives; grated Parmesan

This easy sourdough focaccia recipe makes soft, fluffy, tender, flavorful bread with a delicately crisp crust.

slices of sourdough focaccia bread on parchment paper

Consider this your calling to make easy sourdough focaccia bread from scratch. This recipe only uses sourdough starter, no commercial yeast, so it does take several hours to make, which is much faster than my sourdough bread recipe for beginners or whole wheat sourdough bread.

If you’re not familiar with focaccia in general, it’s a flat, oven-baked Italian bread that’s flavored with olive oil and sometimes toppings (like this za’atar focaccia). It’s often served as a table bread or sandwich bread. It’s crisp on the outside and incredibly soft and fluffy on the inside.

Why This is the Best Sourdough Focaccia

100% sourdough focaccia without commercial yeast. If you want sourdough bread for dinner tonight, then this focaccia is your answer. There will be time for cinnamon raisin sourdough bread later! But right now we want that olive oil soft, fluffy goodness.
Sourdough starter gives it a complex flavor and chewy texture. A fluffy, flavorful, chewy focaccia bread! The perfect crunch on the outside and a soft, tender inside! The starter in combination with the extra gluten in the bread flour, create a stronger structure to trap all those wonderful air bubbles!
An easy recipe that can be made by hand or with a stand mixer.
This recipe uses an Italian technique called “doppio impasto.” It is a double hydration method where you hold back some of the water in the recipe and add it in slowly after gluten development. This allows for a higher hydration dough without needing a longer mix or more folds.
The acidity in the sourdough helps it stay fresh longer!

slice of sourdough focaccia dipped into a bowl of olive oil

Professional Tips for Making Sourdough Focaccia

The recipe is written with measurements by weight (as opposed to cups, tablespoons, etc.). This is because, in the case of sourdough recipes, weight is much more accurate and yields the best, most consistent results. For this recipe, you’ll need to use a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients.
The ratio of all-purpose flour to bread flour in this recipe is important. The combination yields the ideal protein content, which results in the best texture and crumb for focaccia bread. Please use both types of flour as directed if you’re able!
Use the best quality olive oil that you have on hand. The olive oil you have on hand will be fantastic, but if you have access to a little something special, this is a great recipe to use it in. You could also use every day olive oil for the dough and then reserve the most flavorful olive oil for the pan, dimpling and dipping!
You can speed up the process by adding ½ packet of instant dry yeast to the dry ingredients before mixing. This way you get the best of both worlds: the texture and complex flavor of sourdough along with a speed of commercial yeast. It will change the proofing times!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Unbleached All-Purpose Flour: If all you have is bleached all-purpose flour, that is fine. The addition of olive oil and sourdough starter will make any flavor difference very difficult to taste even for the most discerning gastronome.
Bread Flour: I mentioned this above, but the combination of the additional protein in bread flour does give focaccia the structure it needs to support the olive oil and also trap the air into those characteristic bubbles.
Water: I am no finicky about the water I use, but I live in New York City where the tap water is bar none. You could always use distilled water.
Fine Sea Salt: I like to use fine sea salt or kosher salt in this recipe. If you use table salt, be sure to decrease the salt by half
Sourdough Starter: This sourdough focaccia recipe calls for active sourdough starter and it is not a sourdough discard recipe. [Use that discard for sourdough pancakes, sourdough waffles, or sourdough blueberry muffins!] If you do not have a starter and wish to make this bread, head on over to my sourdough starter recipe and then read how to feed sourdough starter. You could make this into a discard recipe but it will either take twice as long to rise, or you can add 1 package instant yeast.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Toppings of choice! Try coarse sea salt or Maldon, fresh rosemary or dried herbs, minced garlic, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced olives, grated Parmesan, and anything else you can think of!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Possible Variations

Infused oils: Why use plain olive oil when you could gently infuse that oil with herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and oregano? Strain, cool and use in place of the extra virgin olive oil in the recipe.
Mix in the flavorings instead! Try mixing in some flavorings like fried rosemary or sage, garlic confit, or dried spices and herbs! And here is to a cheesy mozzarella stuffed focaccia!
Go wild with the toppings. I love a good topping moment. Why not treat focaccia like the deep dish pizza it wants to be? Go ahead and add the tomatoes, sliced onions, peppers and mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, and whatever else your heart desires. Use this sausage pesto pizza using this easy pizza dough recipe as inspiration!

close-up shot of sourdough focaccia bread

How to Serve Sourdough Focaccia

As an appetizer: Serve sliced sourdough focaccia with a high quality dipping olive oil or get creative with dips, spreads and toppings! Try it on a cheese plate or crudité platter along with hummus, tzatziki, or even baba ganoush.
Sliced open and filled with your favorite sandwich ingredients: Break through taste barriers with these open faced caprese sandwiches served on focaccia or slice open and stuff with all the fillings for a turkey bacon bravo sandwich! Focaccia is also an easy upgrade for burger night – try it with this flavorful turkey burger recipe.
As a side dish to complete any meal! Thick slices of sourdough focaccia are excellent for soaking up the last of the sauce around these slow cooker Italian meatballs or served with grilled chicken and a big Italian salad for lunch! You also can’t go wrong serving olive oil cake or this ricotta blueberry cake for dessert!
Leftover focaccia makes excellent croutons or panzanella! Simply cube, toss in olive oil and spices, and toast until crunchy and crisp. I always advise a little parmesan for croutons and they would make an excellent addition to this stone fruit caprese panzanella salad. One can never say no to a cheesy crouton topped tomato soup!

How to Make Sourdough Focaccia

Use these instructions to make soft, fluffy focaccia with a crunchy crust! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: To the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, add all-purpose flour, bread flour, 344g water (reserve remaining 50g for later), salt and 94g active sourdough starter. Mix by hand or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment on low speed just until the mixture forms a dough. Continue to knead the dough by hand, or in a stand mixer on medium speed, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes by hand, 3 to 4 minutes in a stand mixer).

Step 2: Slowly add remaining 50g water to dough, kneading or mixing on low speed as you go. Continue to knead or mix on medium speed until mixture re-forms into a soft, smooth mass of dough.

Step 3: Drizzle in olive oil, kneading or mixing on low speed as you go. Mix the dough and oil together until everything is fully combined and the dough is smooth and elastic (about 3 to 5 minutes by hand, 1 to 2 minutes in a stand mixer).

Step 4: Use a silicone spatula or a bowl scraper to scrape dough into a clean large bowl oiled with olive oil. The dough will be very slack and soft, so don’t try to pick it up/transfer it with your hands. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes (I placed my bowl in the oven, turned off, with the oven light on).

Step 5: Bulk Fermentation & Fold Dough. After 30 minutes have elapsed, uncover bowl. Perform one set of stretch and folds by grabbing one side of the dough, stretching it up and flopping it over on itself. Turn the bowl 180 degrees and repeat, then rotate 90 degrees and stretch and fold, rotate 180 degrees and stretch and fold the fourth side. Cover the bowl again and return it to its resting place.

Step 6: Repeat this step (one set of stretch and folds) every 30 minutes over the course of 2 hours. You will end up giving the dough 4 sets of stretches and folds total.

Step 7: Spread 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a 13×9-inch metal baking pan or baking dish. After the 2 hours (and 4 folds) have elapsed, transfer the dough gently (so as not to disturb any bubbles that may have formed) to the prepared baking pan.

Step 8: Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 2 hours, uncovering every 30 minutes to gently stretch the dough with oiled hands towards the corners of the pan (it will take the entire 2 hours for the dough to relax and stretch, but don’t worry–it will get there!).

Step 9: After these 2 hours have elapsed, leave the dough covered and untouched for another 2 hours in its warm place. This is when the dough will puff up and develop more bubbles.

Step 10: About 30 minutes before you plan to bake the bread, place an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven and heat your oven to 400°F (if you have the dough proofing in the oven, TAKE IT OUT before preheating!).

Step 11: Drizzle about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil evenly on top of dough, then use oiled fingers to dimple the top of the dough all over, pressing all the way to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with desired toppings.

Step 12: Bake focaccia in preheated oven for 15 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking, then continue baking an additional 10-15 minutes until a light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes in baking pan, then carefully transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to store sourdough focaccia bread?

Store focaccia in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. I do find it best the day it is baked. The second and third day are ideal times to make sandwiches, panzanella or croutons with the leftovers! You can always rewarm it in a 350°F directly on the oven rack. You can freeze baked focaccia but I do not recommend storing the focaccia in the fridge because it will dry it out.

How do you get the dimples to stay in focaccia?

You want to be sure to dimple with oiled hands so the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers and press all the way to the pan. It is best to dimple fully proofed dough, popping any large bubbles, at room temperature right before baking.

Can I use sourdough discard to make focaccia bread?

You can use sourdough discard to make focaccia but I would recommend adding either ½ packet of instant yeast or 1 packet active dry yeast (bloomed in the water), or the focaccia will take forever and a day. For the best flavor, texture and results to use active starter and save the discard for sourdough blueberry muffins or sourdough waffles.

If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!