Sourdough Focaccia
⏱️ 24 hours
🍽️ Serves 8
👨🍳 Medium
I know what you're thinking. "24 hours?! Are you kidding me?" But here's the thing — most of that time is hands-off fermentation while you sleep, work, or binge-watch Netflix. Your actual active time? Maybe 20 minutes spread across two days.
This focaccia changed my life. It's fluffy, dimpled, golden, crispy on the bottom, and has that deep sourdough flavour that makes shop-bought bread taste like cardboard. The slow fermentation develops incredible flavour AND makes it easier to digest. Science!
This is the bread that makes you feel like a proper baker. The bread that makes your house smell like an Italian bakery. The bread that makes people go "YOU made this?!" Serve it with soup, dip it in olive oil, make the best sandwiches ever, or just tear into it warm from the oven with butter. This is celebration bread!
In a large bowl, mix the sourdough starter and water until combined. Add the flour and mix until there's no dry flour left. Cover and rest for 30 minutes (this is called autolyse — fancy baker talk for "let it chill").
Add the salt and olive oil. Using wet hands, fold and stretch the dough in the bowl for about 5 minutes. It'll go from shaggy to smooth. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Do a series of "stretch and folds" — wet your hands, grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, fold it over. Rotate the bowl and repeat 4 times. This builds structure. Do this 3-4 times over 2 hours, resting 30 minutes between each set.
After your final stretch and fold, cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight (12-18 hours). The cold fermentation is where the magic flavour happens!
Next day: generously oil a 30cm x 40cm baking tray. Turn out the dough onto the tray and gently stretch it to fill the pan. If it resists, let it rest for 15 minutes and try again. Cover and proof for 2-3 hours until puffy and jiggly.
30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 230°C (210°C fan-forced). This needs a HOT oven!
Time for dimples! Drizzle generously with olive oil, then use your fingertips to poke dimples all over the dough. Really go for it — this is therapeutic! Scatter with rosemary, flaky salt, and any other toppings you fancy.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until deep golden brown. Remove and immediately drizzle with more olive oil. Let it cool for 10 minutes if you can resist (I never can). Tear, share, and accept the compliments!
