Home » Blog » Baking » Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

ByFiona Hours
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

In today’s post I’m sharing a delicious sourdough focaccia recipe that will be sure to leave you wanting more.

One of my favorite kinds of bread warmed up or still warm from the oven is focaccia bread. It smells delicious and the texture is perfect. Add some seasoning and herbs on top, and it doesn’t get much better than that. In our family focaccia bread is something we typically have during the holidays – specifically Christmas. In this post I’m sharing a sourdough focaccia bread recipe. I know it’ll be one that you make over and over again – it’s that delicious!

A freshly baked loaf of sourdough focaccia on a wooden cutting board, with several slices cut to show the soft texture—perfect for serving or snacking.

Ingredients and equipment

All the ingredients for this sourdough focaccia recipe will likely already be in your pantry. It’s one of those easy recipes to make without much planning before hand. And really, it’s hard to go wrong with fresh baked bread. If you don’t have any sourdough starter, check with friends to see if they’d be willing to share some of theirs with you.

All of the ingredients for the sourdough focaccia recipe are shown on a wooden counter top.

Using my KitchenAid mixer (affiliate link) makes baking bread so much easier compared to doing it by hand. Kneading dough always felt like it took forever when I was doing it on the counter with my hands. And it was tiring. But having my mixer do all the hard work with the dough hook makes all the difference. Instead of spending 5 or 10 minutes kneading by hand I can turn on the mixer and have it do it’s thing while I get the next part of the recipe ready.

The sourdough focaccia dough is in a glass bowl with a dough hook attachment from a Kitchenaid mixer sitting on the counter next to the bowl.

Letting the sourdough focaccia dough rise and baking

While breads generally take several hours to rise before putting them into the oven, it’s well worth the wait. Allowing the bread dough to rise and get bubbly inside is what makes it so good to eat. At least in my opinion. Be sure to follow the suggested rising and rest times even if it seems like a lot of “wasted” time. I promise it’ll be worth it.

The sourdough focaccia dough has been pressed into a glass dish, which is sitting on a wooden countertop.

While it might be tempting to open the oven door to take a quick peek of the bread as it cooks, I don’t recommend it. As quick as you may thing you are, opening the door changes the temperature in the oven. The bread bakes for about 30 minutes, so it’s not too long to wait. It smells amazing when you take it out of the oven.

A fresh baked loaf of sourdough focaccia bread is in a glass dish sitting on a wooden countertop.

Letting the bread cool

Another thing I recommend is to let the bread cool on the rack until it’s at least mostly cool. Trying to cut it too early while it’s still hot only leads to smooshed bread that isn’t at all appetizing to eat. I know this from experience. All it took was that one time before I learned my lesson.

A load of sourdough focaccia bread is sitting on a wooden cutting board. Several slices of bread have been cut and turned on their side, showing the texture of the bread.

This bread is pretty versatile. It’s great on it’s own as a side dish, cut in half as a sandwich, and probably my favorite way to eat it – with bruschetta. Homemade bread paired with the tomato, garlic, and seasoning is just so delicious.

Print Recipe

Sourdough Focaccia Bread

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Proof time6 hours
Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 4.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup sourdough starter
  • 2 tbsp everything bagel seasoning, or any desired herbs

Instructions

  • Add flour, water, salt, and ripe sourdough starter to the mixing bowl with the dough hook attachment.
  • Mix on speed 1 for 1-2 minutes until incorporated.
  • Mix on speed 2 for 5 minutes until the dough strengthens and clumps around the hook.
  • Let the dough rest for 10 minutes in the mixing bowl.
  • With the mixer on speed 1, slowly drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil.
  • Once the oil is absorbed, mix on speed 2 for an additional 1-2 minutes until the dough comes back together.
  • Place the dough in a bulk fermentation container and cover for 2 hours.
  • Stretch and fold the dough 4 times during bulk fermentation, with one set every 30 minutes, beginning the first set 30 minutes after the bulk fermentation starts.
  • Apply oil generously to the inside of a 9×13"rectangular pan.
  • Transfer the dough from the bulk fermentation into the rectangular pan either by gently scraping it directly or placing it onto a worksurface first. The dough will rise in the pan for 4 hours.
  • During the first hour, uncover the pan every 30 minutes, gently stretch the dough with damp hands to the pan's edges to help it spread, and then cover it again. Since the dough will naturally expand during this time, there's no need to stretch it excessively.
  • Once the dough is mostly spread, let it continue proofingfor the remaining 3 hours. Approximately 30 minutes before the proofing time ends, turn on the oven to 450°F.
  • Once the oven is preheated, poke the dough's surface with wet or oiled fingers.
  • Drizzle the remaining oil on top of the dough, followed by coarse sea salt.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Add everything bagel seasoning or whatever seasoning you desire after 20 minutes of baking. If you use fresh herbs, add them prior to baking.
  • Let the focaccia cool in the pan before moving it to a cooling rack.
Three slices of the sourdough focaccia recipe have been sliced next to the rest of the loaf. It's on a wooden cutting board, sitting on a counter top.

Love baking with sourdough? You might also enjoy my easy sourdough bagels – they’re soft on the inside, full of flavor, and easier to make than you might think.

If you try making this sourdough focaccia recipe let me know in the comments below or share a photo of it on Instagram and tag me.

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog – I appreciate it!

My name is Fiona and I'm a CSEP certified personal trainer, yogi, soccer player, and foodie (baking is my thing) living in Calgary. Thanks for visiting Get Fit Fiona. I hope you enjoy the sneak peek into my life and the workouts and recipes that I share.