Same Day Sourdough Focaccia Bread - Learn to bake your very own Italian flatbread using a natural sourdough starter and a handful of simple ingredients! With a crispy golden crust topped with rosemary and sea salt, and soft chewy interior, this delicious bread is the perfect addition to any meal!
This easy homemade sourdough focaccia recipe is a bit of a labor of love, but it is definitely worth it. Baking focaccia is not hard, it just takes time! Once it’s baked fresh out of the oven it’s ready to use for the best BLT sandwich or a roast beef sandwich or to serve on the side of easy pasta carbonara!
It’s light and fluffy with a delicious chewy texture and it’s all made with simple ingredients and a sourdough starter to give it that extra flavor!
This focaccia recipe with sourdough starter and my step-by-step recipe for sourdough bread are my to favorite sourdough starter recipes Try them both!
What is Focaccia Bread?
Baked in a sheet pan, this flat bread is a traditional Italian bread made with plenty of olive oil and has those signature fingertip grooves at the top (perfect for holding more olive oil!). You can enjoy it as is or sprinkle it with a bit of coarse sea salt and fresh or dried herbs.
You can also treat it like a pizza crust and cover it in sauce, cheese, and toppings!
Since we bake it in a sheet pan, it gets sliced into squares almost like a party pizza! Then, you can use it to make grilled cheese sandwich with bacon, grilled cheese chicken sandwich, or to use it for dipping in cream of mushroom soup, chicken stew, and garlic parmesan chicken pasta sauce!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour - I use 00 flour which is a finely ground Italian flour. I highly recommend making the trip to the grocery store, however, you can also substitute that with a mix of all-purpose flour and high-protein bread flour.
- Extra virgin olive oil - For the dough, to help keep it nice and moist. Keep some for drizzling afterwards.
- Warm water - To help form the dough and make it easy to mix.
- Sea salt - For flavor.
- Ripe sourdough starter - This replaces the yeast, since it’s naturally fermented and will give the bread a delicious tangy flavor and help give it rise. Making homemade focaccia is a great way to use up some of your sourdough starter!
- Flaky sea salt and fresh rosemary - For garnish, to taste.
How to Make Sourdough Focaccia Bread
Mix the Dough (Start at 9:00 am)
Step 1: Set up your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. You can also mix by hand if preferred.
Step 2: Add the flour, water, salt, and ripe sourdough starter to the bowl and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes until combined, then increase to medium-low speed and mix for 5 minutes until the dough gathers around the dough hook.
Step 3: Let the dough rest for 10 minute sin the bowl, and then turn back on the mixer to low while you gradually drizzle in the olive oil. Once the oil is absorbed, slightly increase the speed for another 1-2 minutes. Transfer the dough to a light greased bowl and cover.
Bulk Fermentation (9:15 am – 11:15 am)
Step 4: Starting 30 minutes into the bulk fermentation, do a stretch and fold. With wet hands, gently lift one side of the dough and fold it over itself. Then, rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides.
You’re going to do this 4 times, every 30 minutes over the course of 2 hours.
Pan Proof (11:15 am – 3:15 pm)
Step 5: Prepare your pan by generously oiling a 9x13-inch rectangular baking pan. Transfer the dough to the pan, carefully trying not to deflate it.
Step 6: Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and start the 4-hour proof (don’t go too far, there are things to do!).
Step 7: Every 30 minutes, uncover the dough and gently stretch it towards the corners with wet hands. Try your best to avoid tearing or over-stretching.
Step 8: At the end of the first hour (after a couple of stretches), cover it once more and let it rest for the rest of the 4 hours.
Step 9: About 30 minutes before proof time is over, preheat the oven to 425°F and position an oven rack on the bottom third of the oven.
Top & Bake (Around 3:15 pm)
Step 10: Use wet hands to poke the surface of the dough with your fingers all over. The dough should be nice and risen, so there’s room to make deep dimples!
Step 11: Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown. The bottom should be nice and crisp.
Step 12: Let the sourdough focaccia bread cool in the pan before transferring it to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Like I said, it’s a labor of love! There are just some recipes, like that are worth it, and this is one!
If you are looking for something quick and easy next time, you should try my Irish soda bread!
Optional Overnight Proofing
If you want to bake the focaccia the next day, halfway through the 4-hour proof, refrigerate the covered pan with the dough to proof overnight.
The next day, remove from pan from the fridge and let the dough come back to room temperature (this may take 1–2 hours).
Once the dough is well-risen and bubbly, and proceed with the Top & Bake step.
Cooking Tips
- Make sure your starter is ripe. This means it’s ready to be used! It should be nice and active (bubbly), have a loose consistency, and have a pleasant tangy smell.
- If you don’t have any starter, ask around! If you have friends who make plenty of sourdough recipes, they’re sure to have some starter on hand.
- Top with your favorite toppings. I keep it simple with sea salt and rosemary, but you could add sliced olives, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic, even some crumbled feta.
- Plan ahead! This recipe is made over the course of a day, so you’ll need to plan accordingly.
Recipe FAQs
Bulk fermentation takes 4–6 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge. Warmer kitchens may speed it up. Look for a dough that has doubled in size and looks airy.
Yes, you can use sourdough discard for focaccia, but for best rise and flavor, it's recommended to use an active and bubbly starter. Discard can work if combined with a long fermentation, but the texture may be denser.
Your starter is ready when it has doubled in size within 4–6 hours after feeding, smells slightly tangy or fruity, and passes the “float test” (a small spoonful floats in water).
Your focaccia is done when the top is golden, the edges are crispy, and it sounds hollow when tapped. A good visual cue is golden brown color all over.
Classic toppings include rosemary, flaky sea salt, garlic, cherry tomatoes, olives, or caramelized onions. Add them right before baking after dimpling the dough.
It really is best enjoyed fresh from the oven, but you can certainly keep it stored airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To freeze it, transfer the pieces to a freezer bag. Keep frozen for up to 2 months, then thaw and reheat to warm before serving.
Yes! Let it cool completely, cut into portions, and freeze in a sealed container. Reheat by wrapping the focaccia in foil and warm it in a 350°F oven for 8–10 minutes. You can also sprinkle a bit of water on top before reheating to keep it soft.
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📖 Recipe
Sourdough Focaccia Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 604 g flour OO Flour, about 4 ¾ cups, scoop and level (Substitute option:423g all-purpose flour (≈ 3 ⅓ cups) plus 181g bread flour (≈ 1 ½ cups))
- 12 g extra virgin olive oil about 1 tablespoon, plus more for drizzling and greasing bowl
- 459 g water warm, about 2 cups
- 12 g sea salt about 2 teaspoons
- 115 g sourdough starter ripe, about ½ cup
- flakey sea salt for garnish
- fresh rosemary to taste
Instructions
- Mix the Dough (Start at 9:00 a.m.)In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook, combine: flour, warm water, sea salt, sourdough starter.Mix on low (Speed 1) for 1–2 minutes, just until combined.Increase to medium (Speed 2) and knead for 5 minutes until dough strengthens.Let rest in the bowl for 10 minutes.With the mixer on low, slowly add in the olive oil until fully absorbed.Mix on medium for 1–2 more minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.Transfer to a lightly greased glass bowl, cover, and let rest.
- Bulk Fermentation (9:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.)Let the dough rise for 2 hours at room temperature.Perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, spaced 30 minutes apart (start at 9:45 a.m.).Simply lift one edge of the dough, fold it over itself, and repeat on all sides.
- Pan Proof (11:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.)Line 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment and grease with olive oil.Carefully move dough into pan.During the first hour, stretch the dough toward the corners every 30 minutes using wet hands.Once the dough reaches the edges, cover and continue proofing undisturbed.At 2:45 p.m., preheat the oven to 425°F (230°C) with a rack in the bottom third.
- Top & Bake (3:15 p.m.)With wet fingers, dimple the surface of the dough.Drizzle generously with olive oil.Sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary and flaky sea salt.Bake for 30 minutes, or until both top and bottom are deep golden brown.Cool slightly in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack.
- Overnight Cold Proof (Optional)Want to break up the process? After about 2 hours of the pan proof, cover the dough and refrigerate it overnight. Next day:Bring to room temperature.Let it finish proofing until well-risen and bubbly.Proceed with dimpling, topping, and baking.
Notes
- If using a flour blend, aim for high-protein bread flour for structure and chew.
- 00 flour creates a soft, silky texture and is ideal for focaccia.
- For extra crispy edges, line the pan with parchment and olive oil.
Jamie
Can you clarify the substitution for 00 pizza flour? Is it only 423g all purpose? Or 423 AP AND the 181 bread? Its not clear in the recipe and my "dough" is looking like soup...
Love Keil
Thanks so much for pointing that out, it’s such a big help! If you don’t have 00 pizza flour, you can substitute with 423 g all-purpose flour plus 181 g bread flour. Using only the 423 g AP would definitely make the dough too wet. Hope that clears things up, and I’ll update the recipe to make it more clear!