The good thing with sourdough Focaccia is that you can put almost anything on top of it. Olives, tomatoes, salami, you name it. It’s almost like a pizza. Some say that focaccia is the precursor to pizza. I won’t argue with that.
This bread is dating all the way back to ancient Rome. So, please approach it with some respect. Something we should do with all the great food by the way.
I decided not to use a dough mixer for this recipe. Remember that in ancient Rome, they had no dough mixer, but they still managed to bake Foccacia. You can use the stretch and fold technique described here instead.
The dough for sourdough Focaccia reminds much of pizza dough, with high-protein wheat flour and olive oil. Most recipes out there are based on yeast, and I won’t lie to you. It’s easier with yeast. But I don’t think they had yeast in ancient Rome, so therefore I want to bake with a sourdough starter. Feel free to call me a geek if you want to. I won’t disagree. But I do think that sourdough starter beats yeast most of the time. Not always, but most of the time.
Day 1. Mixing the dough
I mixed a levain and let it ferment overnight, approx. 8 hours. I also mixed the rest of the flour and the water and let it autolyze. 8 hours is quite a long autolyze, but with the high amount of strong flour, it works.
Day 2. Mixing the dough
As you can see in the picture above, the dough had developed a lot of gluten in the morning. I added the levain, oil, and salt and incorporated them into the dough by pinching it with my hand.
I placed the dough in a well-oiled kitchen bowl and wrapped cling film over it.
Bulk Fermentation
The required time for bulk fermentation depends entirely on the surrounding temperature. I let the dough ferment at room temperature for five hours at room temperature, about 72 ºF/22 ºC. It should increase noticeably in size, and if you can see bubbles on top of the dough, it’s a good sign.
Shaping
On the pictures, you can see how I pressed out the gasses from the dough and folded it. After that, I started to form it into a rectangle fitting into the stainless steel tray. I oiled the tray thoroughly with olive oil and placed the dough into it. I pressed the fingertips through the dough in some places and brushed more olive oil on the surface. Don’t skimp on the oil. Real focaccia should feel a bit greasy when holding it.
All that remained was to sprinkle some flake salt and fresh rosemary over the dough, strap it with cling film and leave it for the final rise.
It will take at least 1,5 hours for the dough to double in size, but I recommend that you leave it some extra time if possible. 2-3 hours will give the crumb a fair chance to develop properly.
Baking
30 minutes in the oven should be enough. Remember that it’s not desirable to get a hard and very crispy crust. Just let it get a nice golden brown color.
As said earlier you can use all sorts of topping for Focaccia. I only used salt and rosemary because I intended to use them in another dish. Chicken burger with sourdough Focaccia and Mojo Rojo. I will soon publish the recipe. Because of that, I wanted it a bit neutral.
But don’t let that stop you. Unleash your creativity and tell us about the result.
About flour.
The hydration of this dough is about 80%. The flour I used has 11.5 % and 13% protein. You may have to increase the water amount to get the same result if you are using a higher amount of strong flour.
Sourdough Focaccia
A traditional Focaccia baked with a sourdough starter with just salt and rosemary on top.
Levain
- 75 gram water
- 100 gram Wheat flour 11% protein content
- 40 gram sourdough starter
Focaccia dough
- 465 gram water
- 250 gram Wheat flour 11% protein content
- 250 gram Wheat flour 13% protein content
- 65 gram durum flour
- 14 gram olive oil
- 14 gram sea salt
- 215 gram levain
Topping
- Flake salt
- rosemary
- olives, tomatoes, herbs, Whatever you prefer.
Focaccia
Mix the rest of the flour and water and let autolyze for 8 hours.
Add salt, oil, and levain and incorporate thoroughly into the dough.
Place the dough in a well oiled container an let it ferment until it has doubled in size.
Lightly flour your work surface and dump out the dough. Press out the gasses. Fold the dough from each side into the middle.
Form the doug to a size fitting to your baking tray. oil the tray and place the dough in it. Press your finger tips through the dough in some places and brush the surface with olive oil.
Add preferd topping.
Bak the Focaccia in 480ºF / 250ºC for 30 minutes or until it has a nice golden brown color.
Let the Focacia cool on a wire rack.
The hydration of this dough is about 80%. The flour I used has 11 and 13 % protein. You may have to increase the water amount to get the same result if you are using a higher amount of stronger flour.
Keyword sourdough bread, starter
