Today we are making the classic Italian flatbread known as focaccia! The way I make focaccia is incredibly easy and it is a no-knead dough. You can make this recipe with dried yeast or you can use your sourdough starter to make sourdough focaccia! Both are so delicious!
You can find the printable recipe here (or it is written in full below):
Tools I use and Recommend for this Recipe (affiliate links)
Silicone Spatula:
9×13″ Pan:
Digital Scale:
Bread Knife:
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INGREDIENTS
-500 gr (4 cups + 2 TBSP) bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
-400 gr (1 3/4 cup) room temperature water
-1/4 tsp instant yeast or 50 gr fed and ripe sourdough starter
-28 gr (2 TBSP) olive oil
-10 gr fine sea salt or kosher salt
-28 gr (2 TBSP) extra olive oil, divided (for the pan and finishing the dough)
-fresh rosemary or other fresh herbs or toppings of choice
-coarse salt for sprinkling on top
INSTRUCTIONS
1.) AUTOLYSE: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and water until well combined. The mixture will be incredibly sticky and wet. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. This will help the flour fully hydrate and will jump start the gluten formation.
2.) FINAL DOUGH MIX: Add in the dry yeast or the sourdough starter along with the olive oil. Begin pinching and folding the dough by hand until the yeast and oil are somewhat combined. Then sprinkle the salt over top and continue pinching and folding the dough until everything is evenly combined. This is a very wet dough and it will take about 2 minutes of mixing by hand to combine everything.
3.) SHAPE: Grease a 9×13″ pan with about 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Transfer the dough into the pan and turn to coat it in oil. Start stretching the dough to fit the pan. It will likely not stretch completely and will want to fight you and snap back in place. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it sit for 20-30 minutes to relax.
4.) FERMENT: After the dough has relaxed, stretch it again until it fits the pan completely. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it ferment at room temperature for about 8 hours or in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours. The cold temperature will slow down the yeast activity and will allow the dough to develop more flavor.
5.) PREHEAT the oven to 450 F (230 C) for about 45 minutes before baking.
6.) TOP THE DOUGH: When ready to bake, the dough should be puffy and full of air. If you pull yours out of the refrigerator and it isn’t quite full of air, you can let it sit at room temperature for a while before baking. Sprinkle toppings over the dough as desired. I like to drizzle about 1 more tbsp of olive oil over, add some fresh rosemary, and a sprinkle of coarse salt.
7.) DIMPLE the dough by taking your fingers and pressing in all over the top. This gives the bread that iconic focaccia look.
8.) BAKE the focaccia at 450 F (230 C) for 18-23 minutes until golden brown.
STORE uneaten focaccia at room temperature loosely covered by foil or plastic wrap for up to 48 hours. Then slice and freeze in an airtight container for up to a month.