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Sourdough focaccia with a golden, dimpled top, olive oil and flaky sea salt

Sourdough Focaccia

Sourdough focaccia with an open crumb and a dimpled olive-oil top, made with one fold from our first-loaf dough, same day or overnight.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Rising & proofing 9 hours
Total Time 9 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 12 pieces
Course: Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dough
  • 500 g bread flour about 4 cups + 2 tbsp
  • 400 g lukewarm water 1⅔ cups
  • 140 g active sourdough starter about ⅔ cup — bubbly, doubled and at its peak
  • 45 g olive oil 3½ tablespoons
  • 13 g fine salt 2 teaspoons
Topping
  • 4 tbsp olive oil 2 for the pan, 2 for the top
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt

Equipment

  • Digital kitchen scale Sourdough is a ratio, not a list of cups
  • Metal baking pan, 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) Metal gives the crisp, golden base a focaccia needs — a chef-tested pick. A slightly smaller pan gives a thicker focaccia, a larger one a thinner, crispier bake.
  • Baking parchment We line the pan with it — the whole focaccia lifts straight out, no sticking.
  • Flexible dough scraper An 80% hydration dough sticks to everything except this.
  • Wire cooling rack Lift the focaccia straight onto it so the base stays crisp instead of steaming soft.

Method
 

  1. Mix the dough. Stir the starter into the lukewarm water until mostly dispersed. Add the flour, salt and olive oil and mix by hand until no dry flour remains. The dough will be loose and sticky — that's right for focaccia. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
  2. One fold — and only one. With a wet hand, do one full set of stretch and folds: grab the edge of the dough, stretch it up and fold it over the center, turn the bowl a quarter and repeat, four folds in total. Cover the bowl. That's all the folding this dough gets.
  3. Rest in the bowl. Leave the covered dough on the counter for about 1½ hours — this is the window where a free-standing loaf would get three more folds. This dough just rests and starts its rise.
  4. Into the pan. Line the pan with baking parchment and pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, spreading it over the paper. Tip the dough in and stretch it gently toward the corners without pressing the air out. It won't reach them yet — it will as it rises.
  5. Proof in the pan. Cover loosely and let it rise on the counter until doubled, puffy and pillowy, filling the pan — for us that's about 7 hours at 70°F (21°C). Room temperature matters far more than the clock here: a warm kitchen can get there in 4 to 5 hours, a cool one may need 9 or more. Read the dough, not the timer.
  6. Preheat. About 30 minutes before the dough is ready, heat the oven to 480°F (250°C), rack in the middle. No steam for this one — the olive oil on top does the job steam does for a lean loaf.
  7. Dimple and top. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the dough, then press your fingertips firmly all the way down through the dough to create deep dimples — don't be gentle, the big bubbles you want will survive. Finish with flaky salt.
  8. Bake. Bake for 20 minutes at 480°F (250°C), then turn the oven down to 400°F (200°C) and bake about 15 minutes more, until the top is deep golden and the edges are crisp.
  9. Cool on a rack. Lift the focaccia out of the pan by the parchment and onto a wire rack right away, so the base stays crisp instead of steaming soft. Let it cool at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Notes

Chef's tip: the pan does the work the folds would do. A free-standing loaf needs gluten strength to hold its own shape; this dough borrows its shape from the pan, so one fold is enough and fermentation builds the crumb.
  • Overnight option. Once panned, the covered pan can go into the fridge for up to 16 hours instead of rising on the counter. Next morning, let it stand at room temperature until puffy and pillowy — usually 1½ to 3 hours — before dimpling and baking.
  • Wet hands, not more flour. At just over 80% hydration the dough sticks to everything. Wet your hands and your scraper instead.