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This sourdough focaccia recipe has quickly become a favorite of mine over the last several months. Some sweet friends shared the recipe with me after bringing it over for dinner, and I have been making it nonstop ever since. My favorite thing about this recipe is that it uses sourdough discard combined with instant yeast to speed the process up significantly. If I only have a few hours to pull something together for dinner, I can still have freshly made bread with this recipe! It takes just under 3 hours to make this focaccia – from mixing the dough to taking it out of the oven.
I’ve told you how quick it is to make this homemade bread, but it is also exceedingly delicious. If we have someone join us for dinner, we can easily finish off the entire loaf in one sitting. It’s just that good! If you have any left over the next day, simply pop it in the oven for a little bit to freshen it up and enjoy.
To make this focaccia, you will need about a cup of sourdough discard. Remember, discard is your sourdough starter that has risen and then fallen and is no longer active. This will add all of the delicious sourdough flavors and nutrients to the bread, but the yeast will do the heavy lifting of making the bread rise.
The first step in the process is to mix together the dough. In a large bowl, measure out 240g of sourdough discard and 390g of lukewarm water. Whisk together with a dough whisk and then sprinkle the 8g of instant yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for just a minute, and you will notice the yeast beginning to activate. Add in 10g of salt and 550g of flour and stir until a dough forms. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Similar to bulk fermentation when making sourdough, we now alternate resting the dough and folding. This builds strength and elasticity while the dough rises and grows. After the 15-minute rest is complete, uncover the bowl. To make one full fold, you will fold each of the four sides of the dough over onto itself. Get your hands slightly wet so that the dough does not stick to you. With a damp hand, slide your hand under the top edge of the dough, lift up, and then fold the dough back down onto itself. Again, on the left side, slide your hand under the edge of the dough, lift, and fold the dough over onto itself.
Repeat this on the bottom side and on the right side of the dough. This makes one complete fold. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest again for 15 minutes. Repeat this process until you have done 3 complete folds with rests in between. After the final fold, cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
For all of the bulk fermentation, you will follow this schedule:
15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 30 min rest
After completing the folds and rests, we will transfer the dough to the pan. Having a metal pan is actually very helpful here. The focaccia will be more likely to stick to the pan if you use a glass pan. If you only have glass, try lining the pan with parchment before adding the oil. So, add 50g of olive oil to a metal 9×13 baking pan and spread it throughout. Gently dump the dough into the pan and carefully spread it to fill the pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until the dough is doubled in size. About halfway through this final rise, go ahead and preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
After the rise, pour 30g of olive oil on top of the dough. Using the tips of your fingers, carefully poke the dough down to create dimples across the surface. Be careful not to smash or deflate the dough while doing this. Sprinkle the top of the dough with sea salt and fresh rosemary.
Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden on top and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Let cool slightly and then slice and enjoy.
I hope you all enjoy this bread as much as we have!
– Anna
Homemade Sourdough Focaccia
Made with sourdough discard, this delicious focaccia is packed with flavor and quick to make!
Source: Anna Reid
Course: Breads
Prep Time: 2 hr 20 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Total Time: 2 hr 45 min
Serves:
Ingredients
- 240 g sourdough discard
- 390 g lukewarm water ~105 degrees
- 8 g instant yeast
- 10 g salt
- 550 g flour all purpose or bread flour
- 80 g olive oil
- Sea salt for topping
- Rosemary for topping
Directions
- In a large bowl, measure out 240g of discard and 390g of lukewarm water and whisk together. Sprinkle 8g of instant yeast on top and let sit for just a minute. You will see the yeast begin to activate. Add in 10g of salt and 550g of flour and stir until a dough forms. Cover the bowl and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Similar to bulk fermentation, we now alternate resting the dough and folding. After the 15 minute rest, uncover the bowl. Get your hands wet so that the dough does not stick to you. To make one full fold, you will fold each of the 4 sides of the dough over onto itself. With a damp hand, slide your hand under the top edge of the dough, lift, and fold the dough down onto itself. On the left side, slide your hand under the edge of the dough, lift, and fold the dough over onto itself. Repeat this on the bottom side and on the right side. This is one complete fold. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. For all of bulk fermentation you will follow this schedule: 15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 15 min rest + fold + 30 min rest
- After completing the folds and rests, we will transfer the dough to the pan. First, add 50g of olive oil to a metal 9×13 baking pan and spread throughout. Gently dump the dough into the pan and spread to fill the pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. About halfway through this final rise, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- After the rise, pour 30g of olive oil on top of the dough. Using the tips of your fingers, carefully poke the dough down to create dimples across the surface. Sprinkle the top with sea salt and fresh rosemary. Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes.
- Let cool slightly and then slice and enjoy!
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