As part of my sourdough appreciation this focaccia has become a regular feature in the Tom Of Denmark household. You can add pretty much any topping you like. I quite like fresh rosemary and Maldon sea salt, plain Maldon sea salt or olives, cherry tomatoes and rosemary.
I love fresh sourdough focaccia: slice it up and serve with a little ramekin of premium olive oil and a dash of balsamic vinegar and just dip to your heart’s content, on the side of a bowl of hot soup or as a delicious sandwich. Anyway enough of me rattling on, let’s get to it.
Here’s the sourdough focaccia recipe
Ingredients
- 423g Plain white flour
- 181g Strong bread flour (malted if you fancy more flavour)
- 459g Water
- 11g Fine sea salt
- 115g Ripe sourdough starter
- 12g Olive oil
Method
Using a stand mixer like Kenwood using a dough hook, add the flours together in a bowl , give them a quick whisk to mix, make a well into which you pour the water, add salt and sourdough starter. Hold back the olive oil. Mix the dough on speed 1 or 2 for about 3 mins until it’s all fully incorporated. Now keep mixing for about 5 mins to really let the dough strengthen until it starts to collect around the dough hook. Leave it to rest for 10 mins in the bowl.
Now it’s time to add the olive oil. Turn on the mixer on speed 1 and while it’s on slowly drizzle in the oil. Once all the oil is absorbed, turn up the mixer to 2 for about 2-3 mins. Time to transfer the dough to your bulk container for proofing. Cover your container with a lid or cling flim.
This dough will be very wet and droopy: but don’t worry, it’s fine. As it proves and you perform your turn and folds, the dough will strengthen and it’ll start to make sense.
For the first 2 hours you perform 4 fold and turns every 30 mins. At this point you transfer the dough to your oven proof tin. I use a rectangular roasting tin which I line with a reusable silicone liner. Grease the liner/tray with olive oil before you transfer the dough. Cover with cling film.
The next 4 hours you perform a further 2 fold and turns. As time passes the dough naturally level out across the tin. Once that’s happened you leave the dough to prove untouched and covered.
As the dough is ready it’s time to add toppings and bake.
With wet fingers dimple the dough all across the surface. Now drizzle with 2 spoons of olive oil and Maldon Sea salt and add any further toppings at the stage too.
With oven at 230C bake the focaccia for about 30 mins, making sure to turn the tin half way through, until the top is dark golden tan.
Take out and it leave to cool. Yummy!
Sourdough Focaccia
Ingredients
- 423 g Plain Flour
- 181 g Strong White Bread Flour
- 459 ml Water
- 11 g Fine Sea Salt
- 115 g Sourdough Starter
- 12 g Olive Oil
Instructions
- Use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment
- Combine the two flours in the bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the flours.
- Add water, salt and sourdough starter in the well
- On speed 1 or 2 combine the dough for 3-4 mins until all ingredients are fully incorporated
- On speed 3 or 4 keep mixing the dough for a further 5 mins to get the gluten activated and strengthen the dough. You want it to start collecting around the hook.
- Now leave it to rest for 10 mins
- At a low speed slowly drizzle the olive oil into the dough, once all the oil has been added, turn up the speed to 2-3 to work the dough.
- Transfer the dough to a bulk container to prove. It may seem quite wet but don't be alarmed. The dough will strengthen over the next couple of hours
- The next two hours you'll perform 4 stretch and folds every 30 mins. A stretch and fold is when with your dough in front of you, with one hand on your container and the hand "reaches" under the top of dough, you pull up and stretch the dough folding it over the bottom of the container. This is repeated 4 times. It goes like this: top to bottom, left to right bottom to top and right to left
- Now liberally grease your oven proof container before transferring the dough into it. There's no need to spread the dough to fit the container as it will naturally expand to fit.
- Leave to prove for two hour without performing any stretch and folds.
- About 30 mins before the end of proving time turn on your oven to 230C to preheat it
- Time to get your chosen topping ready. I chose cherry tomatoes (halved), black olives (pitted and halved), fresh rosemary (chopped) and sea salt flakes
- You now need to dimple your focaccia, using wet fingers to create little dimples all over the dough, I worked from top to bottom, drizzle with olive oil and add your topping.
- Cook at 230C for about 30 mins until it's beautiful and golden all over
- Take it out and leave to cool on a wire rack