The Best Simple Sourdough Focaccia

Sourdough Focaccia is a fermented version of the insanely bubbly, crispy Italian bread. This no-knead recipe walks you through step by step. With no mixer required, it’s the easiest focaccia to make.

Do you remember Oprah on those Weight Watchers commercials talking about how much she loves bread? “I. LOVE. BREAD.” That’s how I feel about focaccia. If had to pick one kind of bread to eat for the rest of my life, it would be focaccia. I love how crispy and chewy and salty and buttery it is. I love how versatile it is in its uses and its toppings. Use it for sandwich bread, with soup, with pasta, with coffee, or just on its own.

It Italy, focaccia is a sweet or savory bread that is eaten as soon as it comes out of the oven. It’s commonly made with yeast, but this particular recipe uses only sourdough starter as a leavener. I made this as simple to make as possible with minimal ingredients and equipment. The process is easy and uncomplicated, yet and the flavor is rich and complex. And the big, crunchy bubbles on the top are oh so satisfying.

Why sourdough focaccia is the best for beginners

• No special equipment – This sourdough focaccia dough can be baked in whatever oven safe pan is available. It works in a cast iron skillet or a glass baking dish or even a cookie sheet. And when mixing the dough, I don’t use a stand mixer. Everything goes into a bowl, gets mixed, and proofs right in the same container.
• No shaping required – Unlike rustic artisan bread or a sandwich loaf, this dough only needs one gentle stretch and fold, and that’s it. Actually the less I touch the dough, the more airy the crumb is after baking. It’s the easiest bread for a beginner to make.
• Bake same day – Many sourdough recipes are spread out over days of shaping, proofing, and fermenting. This sourdough focaccia dough can be started in the morning, and eaten at dinnertime. Even so, it’s versatile with any schedule, so the dough can be made in advance, kept in the fridge, and finished the day you want to bake.

Example sourdough focaccia baking schedule

Times vary based on ambient temperature in your environment and your schedule. This guide is far from rigid.

9:00pm: Feed starter

8:00am: Mix flour, water, and starter and cover with a tight lid or plastic wrap to autolyse.

9:00am: Fully incorporate salt and oil. Cover again.

11:00am: Stretch and fold. Cover again.

2:00pm: Transfer to well-oiled baking dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

4:00pm: Dress and dimple the dough then bake.

5:00pm: After baking and allowing to cool for at least 10 minutes, slice and enjoy!

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Supplies you may need

The only things you really need for this recipe are a large bowl and a baking pan. Although everything else is optional, I find everything on this list really helpful.

I use this bowl and lid combination from Pyrex to mix and proof the dough. It serves me really well when I’m making bread dough of all kinds. I like to use a bowl scraper to transfer the dough out of the bowl and into its baking dish. Any baking pan you have will do, but this one is my favorite to use to make focaccia.

• Pyrex bowl with lid
• Bowl scraper
• Baking pan

Making sourdough focaccia step by step

I now find focaccia to be the easiest bread to make, but when I made it for the first time it seemed so daunting. My first attempt didn’t turn out the way the pictures on Pinterest looked. I had no idea what I was doing because I didn’t know what I should be looking for in the dough along the way.

I’ve taken photos of the dough at every step in the process, so that maybe your experience will be different than mine. I want you to make this and love how it turns out!

Autolyse: mix flour, water, and starter

If you’re not familiar with the term, “autolyse” is a fancy way of saying mix it and leave it alone. Gluten does this magical thing when it’s just left to sit in the bowl. The dough will form strength and elasticity without ever kneading by just mixing flour and water and letting them hang out together for an hour or two.

Since this is a high hydration dough, it’s harder to handle, so doing an autolyse gives the dough a little boost right up front. I like to use a bowl scraper to fully incorporate all the flour, water, and sourdough starter. Since this is just autolyse and not fermentation, I can leave this as long as I need. When my schedule finally opens up to coming back to my dough, then I’ll add the salt and oil. This is when fermentation begins.

After autolyse

Below is a side by side of the dough before and after autolyse. On the left, the flour, water, and starter were all mixed together. On the right is that same mixture after being left untouched for about 2 hours. You’ll notice it’s much smoother, and when the dough is handled, it stretches.

Add salt and oil

Salt is a key ingredient to get fermentation off to the races. I like to place my bowl right onto my food scale and sprinkle the salt on top of the dough. If you’re not comfortable with putting salt right into the bowl and getting the measurement right, you can weigh it out on a small plate or Tupperware lid before adding to the dough.

Add the oil after the salt. Again, I like to add it right into the bowl, but if it’s easier for you, the oil can be measured in a separate cup before being added to the dough. Incorporate everything thoroughly, and cover tightly.

Bulk fermentation

Below is the dough after the oil and salt was fully incorporated, and to the right is that dough after it’s been sitting untouched for two hours. It has risen quite a bit and become shinier on the top.

Stretch and fold

After the dough has sat for about 2 hours it’s time for the one and only stretch and fold. Scroll through the images below for a step by step walkthrough of the process and what to look for in the dough. If you need more details, I break stretch and folds down even more here.

After stretching and folding once, leave to double in size. Depending on the temperature, this will take 2-3 hours. Below is the dough immediately after stretching and folding and to the right is 2 hours later. It rose significantly, is smooth and glossy on the top, and has bubbles under the surface.

Transfer the sourdough focaccia to a baking pan

It matters less about what kind of baking vessel you choose and more about how well you oil it. I liberally oil my pan and then use my fingers to evenly distribute over the bottom and up the sides. I like to use a bowl scraper to remove the dough from the bowl and transfer it into the pan. Gently encourage the dough to stretch out in the pan, but don’t force it. Stop messing with the dough when it doesn’t want to give anymore.

Final proof

If I want to do an overnight proof, this is the moment I put the dough into the refrigerator after covering with plastic wrap. The next morning I pull it out of the fridge and let it proof at room temperature for about 2 hours before topping and baking. For a same day bake, just cover with plastic wrap and let it sit one last time to double in size which take 1-2 hours depending on temperature.

Top and bake the sourdough focaccia

This is the point where you can get as creative as you like. I love to make this with lots of toppings or super simple with just some flaky salt (like Maldon) sprinkled over the top before dimpling and baking. Some say to dimple and then add toppings, but I prefer to place all the toppings on the surface and press them deep into the dough as I dimple.

Recently, instead of flaky salt, I’ve been topping my sourdough focaccia with a salamoia which is the Italian word for “brine”. It’s traditionally used on Focaccia Genovese, and it simultaneously seasons and oils the top of the focaccia while keeping the inside moist and fluffy. I like to put the brine in a squeeze bottle and drizzle over the top. I like these ones if you want to give it a try.

Additional toppings

Another great combination for the top is garlic confit and cherry tomatoes. Preheat the oven to 325F/160C. Fill a small oven safe container with peeled garlic and enough olive oil to cover the cloves.

I like to put my little pot on an aluminum-lined pan to prevent spilling and to make it easier to remove from the oven.

After about an hour in the oven, the garlic cloves will be tender and caramelized. They will taste sweet and melt in your mouth. Let them cool enough to handle and strain them from the oil.

Top the dough with the garlic confit and halved cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with the infused garlic confit oil and sprinkle some flaky sea salt over the top. Dimple by first oiling your fingers and then pressing deep into the dough. The tips of your fingers should touch the bottom of the pan.

Whether you choose to top it with just salt, a salamoia, garlic confit, or something else entirely, this sourdough focaccia is guaranteed to be the best and simplest bread you’ll ever make.