Sourdough Focaccia: Uhhh, Yes Please!

Focaccia, the uprising star of the bread world, is fresh, chewy, and downright delicious. In an era where no calorie can be wasted, and subpar bread simply won’t do, sourdough focaccia emerges as a delightful addition to every charcuterie board and nearly every occasion. But what sets it apart?

1. The Sourdough Advantage:
   • Unlike its yeasted counterparts, sourdough focaccia relies on a lively sourdough starter. This natural leavening agent not only imparts a tangy flavor but also contributes to its gut-friendly qualities. The bulk fermentation and proofing process further enhance its digestibility, making it a healthier choice for bread enthusiasts.
2. Versatility on Your Plate:
   • Sourdough focaccia isn’t just a humble bread; it’s a canvas waiting to be adorned. Picture this: a scrumptious Deru inspired chicken and goat cheese sandwich with an onion marmalade jam, fresh arugula, and garlic aioli, sandwiched between your fresh focaccia. The olive oil-brushed crust, dimpled with herbs and sea salt, provides the perfect base for flavor-packed toppings. It seriously makes any sandwich mind blowingly delicious.
3. The Sourdough Starter Saga:
   • Ah, the sourdough starter—the heart of this recipe. If you lack one, fear not. Kits are available online for starting your own. Be prepared for a few days of nurturing, depending on your environment. Patience is your best friend here.
   • Alternatively, seek out a baking-savvy friend (or a friend of a friend of a friend) who can share some starter love. It’s like a sourdough matchmaking service!
4. Feeding Your Starter:
   • Once you have your starter, it’s time to feed it. Remove 1/2-1/3 of the current starter and mix 1/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup room-temperature water into it using clean utensils. Remember, your starter is a living culture, so avoid contamination. We remove half to a third to have less starter to feed, but if you’re planning on doing lots of baking, you certainly can keep all of your starter and feed it more equal quantities of flour and water.
   • Mark your container (a rubber band or an expo marker works) to track its rise. We’re aiming for doubling. Depending on your starter’s recent activity, you might need a few feedings to optimize it for baking.
   • The float test: Drop a bit of your fed, active starter into a cup of water. If it floats, you’re golden! If not, it needs more TLC.
5. The Tango of Feeding:
   • Feeding your starter is like dancing a tango. The time of year and the temperature of its environment play a significant role. Summer warmth and humidity accelerate everything—rise included.
   • The opposite is also true, colder temperature slows down the rate of growth/proofing. So you can definitely feed the night before and store it in the fridge for the next day’s use!
   • When not in use, do store in fridge.
   • You can dry some of your sourdough starter and freeze it as a ‘sourdough starter life insurance.’ Otherwise, share with many of your baking friends so if anything does happen to your starter, you have others who can share their discard 🙂

Onwards to the focaccia recipe!

Ingredients & Recipe:

• 512 g of Bread flour or 490 g regular flour + 25 g vital wheat gluten
• 440 g Water
• Maldon/Flaky sea salt + 10 g coarse sea salt (If you don’t have either, regular salt will do)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 80 g Sourdough starter

1. Using a large glass bowl add your water, starter, coarse sea salt, and flour. Mix thoroughly with your favorite kitchen utensil. Let rest.
2. After 30 minutes, pull the dough from the sides to the center. Let rest until doubled in size.
3. Once doubled, add 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the middle of the dough. In a baking pan, add around 5-6 tbs of the same oil. Scrape your dough into the pan. Fold the dough over hotdog style, and then hamburger style. Press the dough down until equal height across, and stretch the dough to the corners of your pan. The dough will retract from the corners after you let go. Let this rest until doubled in size. This is your bulk fermentation and will take longer than the first proof if in the same environment. If you’re making this is advance, you can also place the dough in your fridge for this second proofing stage.
4. Once doubled in size, oil your hands and dimple your focaccia by pressing your fingertips in the dough across the top.
5. Sprinkle some flaky sea salt (Maldon), or dress the bread however you deem fit.
6. This goes in the oven at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Yes, good bread is certainly the commitment. Nothing beats fresh squishy and wonderfully chewy bread though, so if you can’t commit, I hope you find a close friend who can and will share their masterpieces with you 🙂

**Bread flour is the exact same as regular flour but with higher protein content (where the vital wheat gluten comes in). The higher protein content is what gives the focaccia a better chewy stretchy texture. This is the golden texture for focaccia, and what makes it addicting and delicious.

Tips:
– Feed the starter before you actually need it. I know being in Washington with our temperatures here, if my starter has been inactive for a few months, it takes me 2-3 days to get it optimal again for baking.

– Save your discard. You can make discard pancakes, cookies, chips, crackers etc. The world is your oyster. Don’t waste your discard! You can even add it back into recipes but do note that it’s also added flour + water content so you’ll need to be familiar enough with your recipe to gauge the dough.

– I said it before, and I’ll say it again! Share your discard with friends and family. It’s a wonderful foodie friend gift to give, and you never know when they can help you out too!

– If you cut the recipe in half, or split the focaccia into 2 smaller baking pans for the second proof, it makes an amazing deep dish pan pizza base 😉 We love ours with a white sauce, chicken, bacon bits, and pickled jalapeños on top T_T absolute game changer. Maybe I’ll do a pizza recipe series next!

That’s it folks! Happy baking 🙂