Simple Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
When we're ready for a break from my usual homemade sourdough bread, this simple sourdough focaccia recipe is the one I reach for first. It's an easy recipe to fit around a busy day, built on simple ingredients, and it always disappears fast - whether we're having friends over or planning a cozy weekend meal. The fresh rosemary and good quality extra virgin olive oil bring that classic Italian flavor, and because the dough cold ferments overnight, there's almost nothing to do on bake day except dimple, top, and bake.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
⏱ Prep Time: 30 minutes active (plus autolyse and folds)
👩🏻🍳 Baking Time: 20-25 minutes
⏳ Total Time: ~8-18 hours (mostly hands-off)
👥 Serving: 12 pieces
🔥 Calories: ~287 kcal per serving
🥣 Main Ingredients: Bread flour, sourdough starter, water, olive oil, honey, salt
👌 Difficulty: Intermediate
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🌾 From Italian Hearths to the Homestead Kitchen
Focaccia has been around since ancient Rome - panis focacius, bread of the hearth. The original was always naturally leavened (commercial yeast didn't arrive until the late 1800s), so this sourdough version is the traditional one - one of the oldest sourdough recipes still made the same way today.
This easy sourdough focaccia bread recipe fits a two-day rhythm: mix in the evening, stretch and fold, bulk ferment, then cold proof overnight and bake the next day. The long rise deepens the tang and makes the wet dough easier to handle. Refrigerated up to 48 hours, you get the best focaccia you'll bake at home.
If you're early on your sourdough journey, start with my simple sourdough bread recipe - focaccia is a natural next step (similar starter, similar patience to a pizza dough cold-proofed a couple of days). For a soup pairing as a side dish, see my best soup appetizer roundup.
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🥘 Ingredients
To find the precise measurements, scroll to the bottom of this post to find the recipe card
- Extra strong bread flour - higher protein for strength and an open crumb. All-purpose flour works (reduce water slightly). Use 800 g bread flour weighed on a digital scale.
- Warm water - 80% hydration. Roughly 640 g water creates steam for the irregular holes that make a good focaccia.
- Active sourdough starter (100% hydration) - recently fed, bubbly, passing the float test. A weak active starter is the top reason focaccia turns out dense. Roughly 160 g starter.
- Extra virgin olive oil - tenderizes the dough, fries the crust in the baking pan, gives that crispy crust on top. Use high quality, good quality oil.
- Fine sea salt - tightens gluten. Dissolved in reserved water for even spread.
- Honey - gentle sweetness; encourages browning.
- Fresh rosemary - perfumes the loaf. Chop roughly.
- Flaky sea salt - bursts of salinity on top.
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🍽 Equipment
- Digital scale
- Large mixing bowl
- Dough whisk
- Dark metal baking pan, baking tray, or sheet pan (preferred for crispiest bottom crust)
- Glass pan or baking dish (works - pull 1-2 minutes early)
- Cooling rack
🔪 Instructions
- Combine the 800 g flour and warm water in a large bowl (or large mixing bowl), reserving 2 tablespoons of water for the salt. Mix with a dough whisk until no dry flour remains - you'll have a rough dough, shaggy dough, and that's correct. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest 30 minutes.
- Dissolve the fine sea salt in the reserved warm water. Add to the dough along with the active sourdough starter, honey, and a drizzle of olive oil. Squeeze and pinch until cohesive. Very wet is correct. If you prefer a stand mixer, add everything to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment on low speed (or medium speed for a faster mix) until just combined.
- Cover the bowl and rest the dough at room temperature in a warm place. Over 2 hours, do 4 sets of stretch and folds 30 minutes apart. One set of stretch: with wet hands, grab one side of the dough, stretch up without tearing, fold over. Rotate 90 degrees - four folds per set, around the side of the bowl. (A coil fold works just as well - pick up the middle, let the sides drop and fold under.)
- Bulk ferment at room temperature until about 60% risen - roughly 3-5 hours at 70°F. This first rise depends on the temperature of your kitchen. Look for visible bubbles on the surface and sides of the bowl, and a jelly-wobbly dough. In a warm spot the dough rise moves faster.
- Pour olive oil generously into your baking pan to coat the base. Transfer the dough into the pan for the second rise.
- Same-day bake: Proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- Next-day bake: Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, rest at room temperature 1-2 hours until bubbles appear. (Lift onto parchment paper first if you want easier transfer to a serving board after baking.)
- Preheat to 250°C / 480°F. Oil your hands and press fingertips into the top of the dough, all the way to the bottom of the pan, for deep dimples across the surface. A drizzle of olive oil - a few tablespoons of olive oil - then scatter fresh rosemary and flaky sea salt.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crispy at the edges. Transfer to a cooling rack after 5 minutes in the pan. Rest 10 minutes before slicing. The crumb sets as it cools.
🥄 Substitutions
- Bread flour: Extra strong or high-protein g bread flour makes the crumb open. Purpose flour (all-purpose) works - reduce the water by 15 g for a denser result. Whole wheat under 25%.
- Honey: Maple syrup or sugar. Skip entirely for slightly less browning.
- Rosemary: Thyme, sage, or oregano. Cherry tomatoes pressed into the dimples make a beautiful summer variation.
- No flaky salt? Coarse sea salt or kosher salt. Avoid fine table salt on top.
📋 Variations
These different toppings are great options for entertaining or a new direction next time.
- Olive and cherry tomato - press halved olives and cherry tomatoes into the dimples.
- Garlic herb - warm olive oil with crushed garlic, a pinch of garlic powder, and thyme before drizzling.
- Parmesan crust - grated Parmesan in the last 5 minutes.
- Focaccia as sandwich bread - slice horizontally; the crispy bottom holds fillings better than regular bread.
🥣 Storage
Focaccia is best the day it's baked.
- Room temperature: Wrap in a clean tea towel (not airtight) up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Sealed up to 5 days. A few minutes in the oven brings texture back.
- Freezer: Slice first, freeze on parchment paper, then bag up to 3 months. Reheat at 325°F / 160°C for 8-10 minutes. For leftover focaccia just a day old, a dry skillet over medium heat face-down for 2-3 minutes revives the crispy crust - same trick the second time you reheat.
💭 Tereza's Top Tips
- Your active starter is the single most important variable - bubbly and float-test passing.
- Resist the urge to add flour. Wet dough is correct. Wet hands and a scraper make sticky dough manageable.
- Be generous with olive oil in the baking pan. A shallow puddle before the dough goes in fries the bottom into the crust that makes this a great recipe - first time and every time after.
🧂FAQ
You can, but add ½ teaspoon of instant yeast for a reliable rise.
Underfermented dough, weak active starter, or overhandling. The dough should be visibly bubbly before you move it.
No - same-day works with a strong starter and warm kitchen. The overnight cold ferment gives better flavor.
Golden brown on top, firm golden bottom, hollow when tapped. Center reads at least 200°F.
Yes - swap honey for maple syrup or sugar.
Yes. After bulk fermentation, transfer the sourdough focaccia dough to a well-oiled baking pan, wrap in plastic wrap, freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight, rest 1-2 hours, then dimple, top, bake.
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📖 Recipe
Simple Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13-inch metal baking pan
Ingredients
- 800 g extra strong bread flour
- 16 g fine sea salt
- 640 g warm water (reserve 2 tablespoons for the salt)
- 160 g active sourdough starter (100% hydration, recently fed)
- 40 g extra virgin olive oil (plus more for the pan and topping)
- 20 g honey
- Fresh rosemary roughly chopped, for topping
- Flaky sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Combine flour and warm water (minus 2 reserved tablespoons) in a large bowl. Cover and rest 30 min (autolyse).640 g warm water , 800 g extra strong bread flour
- Dissolve salt in reserved water; add to the dough with starter, honey, and olive oil. Pinch to incorporate.16 g fine sea salt, 160 g active sourdough starter
- Rest at room temperature; over 2 hours, do 4 sets of stretch and folds.
- Bulk ferment until ~60% risen, 3-5 hr at 70°F.
- Oil the baking pan. Transfer dough in. Same-day: proof 1-2 hr. Next-day: wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate overnight, rest 1-2 hr.
- Preheat to 250°C / 480°F. Dimple to the bottom of the pan. Drizzle olive oil. Scatter fresh rosemary and flaky sea salt.40 g extra virgin olive oil , Flaky sea salt, Fresh rosemary
- Bake 20-25 min until golden brown. Cool 5 min in pan, then transfer to a cooling rack. Rest 10 min before slicing.
Notes
- Active starter must pass the float test.
- Dark metal pan = crispiest crust. Glass: pull 1-2 min early.
- Leftover focaccia: reheat 325°F / 160°C for 8-10 min, or face-down in a dry skillet.
- Freezes up to 3 months.
Made this last weekend and honestly didn't expect it to turn out this good for my first try. Served it warm with soup and my family just kept cutting more pieces, nothing left by the end of dinner. Will 100% be making this again!