Sourdough focaccia

Makes 1 focaccia (30x40cm tray) · about 1050g of dough

• Bread flour500g
• Water400g
• Active sourdough starter100g
• Fine sea salt10g
• Olive oil (in dough)40g
• Olive oil (for the tray)20g
• Olive oil (for drizzling)10g
• Flaky sea salt5g

80% hydration

1. 1

   Mix starter and water

   5 min

   Add 100g active starter to 400g water at 22–24°C / 72–75°F and swirl with your hand or a dough whisk until the starter is dissolved and the water looks cloudy. Dissolving it first means it blends evenly through the dough.

2. 2

   Add flour and autolyse

   25 min

   Add 500g bread flour to the bowl. Mix with your hand until no dry flour remains, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. The dough will feel very wet and sticky. This is right for a focaccia this wet. Cover and rest 20 minutes.

3. 3

   Add salt and olive oil

   10 min

   Sprinkle 10g fine sea salt over the rested dough and add 30g olive oil. Work both in using pinch-and-fold motions for 5 to 8 minutes until the dough is smooth and supple. Wet hands help: far more effective than floured hands with such a wet dough.

4. 4

   Bulk fermentation with coil folds

   5 h

   Cover and leave to rise at room temperature, 22–24°C / 72–75°F. With wet hands, do 4 sets of coil folds at 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes. The dough starts very slack and gets airier and stronger with each set. Then leave it completely undisturbed. This first rise (bulk) is done when the dough has grown by 50–75% and looks domed, bubbly and jiggly: about 4–6 hours.

   At 20–24°C / 68–75°F this usually takes about 5 hours; a warm kitchen (24–28°C / 75–82°F) can be ready in about 4 hours, a hot one (28°C+ / 82°F+) sooner still, and a cool kitchen (below 20°C / 68°F) may need about 6½ hours.

5. 5

   Transfer to tray

   20 min

   Pour 20g olive oil into your baking tray (about 30 × 40cm, sides at least 3cm high) and spread it over the base and sides. With a wet bench scraper, gently turn the risen dough into the middle of the tray. With wet hands, press and stretch it lightly towards the corners. It will spring back: do not force it. It fills the tray as it rises.

6. 6

   Cold retard (overnight)

   10 h

   Cover the tray tightly with a shower cap or cling film. Place in the fridge at 4°C. The dough will rise slowly for 8–14 hours (overnight) and spread to fill the tray. In the morning it should look puffy and bubbly. Take it out 30–60 minutes before baking, so it loses its chill while the oven preheats.

7. 7

   Temper and preheat the oven

   60 min

   Remove tray from fridge and leave at room temperature still covered. Set oven to 230°C (210°C fan) / 450°F simultaneously. Both take approximately 30–60 minutes. Dough is ready to dimple when it feels soft and slightly puffy and is no longer cold to the hand.

8. 8

   Dimple and bake

   28 min

   Drizzle 10g olive oil over the surface of the tempered dough. Using all ten fingertips, press firmly all the way down through the dough to the tray bottom in a grid pattern. Deep decisive dimples. Add flaky salt and chosen toppings into the dimples. Bake at 230°C (210°C fan) / 450°F for 22–28 minutes until top is deep golden brown and edges pull from tray sides. Check bottom with spatula.

9. 9

   Rest and serve

   15 min

   Remove focaccia from oven. Immediately slide out of tray onto wire rack. Rest 10–15 minutes. Serve warm.

10. 10

    Serve

    1 min

    Slice into squares or tear into pieces. Serve warm. Extra olive oil for dipping always welcome.