Each week as I “feed” my sourdough starter, I make some kind of bread from the excess. So I am constantly looking for new recipes and ideas. This one is simple but does require extended rise time since it uses no added commercial yeast. The recipe does call for active starter so I “feed” the excess starter (using the usual proportions outline in the starter recipe) prior to making the focaccia. The recipe came from Alexandra’s Kitchen blog. She offers a video as well as a slew of other good looking sourdough recipes. I did cut the recipe in half and baked it in an 8x8-inch pan.
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| I served it warm from the oven with a summer vegetable soup (Cheesy Mexican Squash Soup). The next day I sliced it in half and used it for chicken salad sandwiches. |
Sourdough Focaccia
1/2 cup active sourdough starter
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature,
About 4 cups) bread flour
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About 3 tablespoons+ extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Optional herb toppings such as fresh rosemary sprigs
- Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated.
- 30 minutes after you mix the dough, it’s time to “fold” —reach into the bowl and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the bowl quarter turns and continue pulling 8 to 10 times.
- Drizzle dough with a splash (of the 3 tablespoons) of olive oil and rub to coat.
- Cover bowl with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen — on a summer day in Kansas, mine was ready in 4 hours. Do not use an oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it will be too warm. Note: It is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time to determine when the bulk fermentation is done. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.
- When dough has doubled, place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch pan.
- Use your hand to gently deflate the dough and release it from the sides of the bowl. Gently scoop the dough into the center of the pool of oil in your prepared pan. Fold dough envelope style from top to bottom and side to side to create a rough rectangle. Turn dough over so seam-side is down.
- Drizzle dough with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Rub top of dough with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Note: Pan of dough could go into the refrigerator for an overnight ferment . . . then just continue with the second proof (rise) the next day.
- Leave alone for 4 to 6 hours, uncovered, or until puffy and nearly doubled. (Mine was done a little less than 4 on a hot day in Kansas.)
- Heat oven to 425ºF. Rub hands lightly with more oil; using all ten fingers, press gently into the dough to dimple and stretch the dough to nearly fit the pan.
- Sprinkle generously with sea salt and herbs if desired.
- Transfer pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden all around. Remove pan from oven and transfer bread to a cooling rack. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.
Recipe without photos . . . Sourdough Focaccia
1/2 cup active sourdough starter
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons water, room temperature,
About 4 cups) bread flour
------
About 3 tablespoons+ extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Optional herb toppings such as fresh rosemary sprigs
- Place the starter, salt, and water in a large bowl. Stir with a spatula to combine — it doesn’t have to be uniformly mixed. Add the flour. Mix again until the flour is completely incorporated
- 30 minutes after you mix the dough, it’s time to “fold” —reach into the bowl and pull the dough up and into the center. Turn the bowl quarter turns and continue pulling 8 to 10 times.
- Drizzle dough with a splash (of the 3 tablespoons) of olive oil and rub to coat.
- Cover bowl with a tea towel or bowl cover and set aside to rise at room temperature (70ºF) for 4 to 18 hours (the time will vary depending on the time of year, the strength of your starter, and the temperature of your kitchen — on a summer day in Kansas, mine was ready in 4 hours.. Do not use an oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it will be too warm. Note: It is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time to determine when the bulk fermentation is done. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.
- When dough has doubled, place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 9×13-inch pan.
- Use your hand to gently deflate the dough and release it from the sides of the bowl. Gently scoop the dough into the center of the pool of oil in your prepared pan. Fold dough envelope style from top to bottom and side to side to create a rough rectangle. Turn dough over so seam-side is down.
- Drizzle dough with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Rub top of dough with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Note: Pan of dough could go into the refrigerator for an overnight ferment . . . then just continue with the second proof (rise) the next day.
- Leave alone for 4 to 6 hours, uncovered, or until puffy and nearly doubled. (Mine was done a little less than 4 on a hot day in Kansas.)
- Heat oven to 425ºF. Rub hands lightly with more oil; using all ten fingers, press gently into the dough to dimple and stretch the dough to nearly fit the pan.
- Sprinkle generously with sea salt and herbs if desired.
- Transfer pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden all around. Remove pan from oven and transfer bread to a cooling rack. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.
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