Sourdough Focaccia

Step 1

In the morning feed your starter so you can use 120g of it once it has risen.For this dough it could be 35g starter, 70g flour and 70g water. This will make approximately 175g starter. 120g can be used for the dough and the remaining starter can be fed again 1:2:2 and stored for the next time you need it.

Step 2

When the starter has nearly finished rising, the main bread flour and water are combined in a bowl to autolyse.  When the starter is ready, add it to the dough along with the salt. Use wet hands to squish this together until well combined. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Step 3

Over a period of 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, one every 30 minutes. In each set, stretch and fold the dough over 4-5 times, turning the bowl each turn. As each set passes, the dough becomes more and more elastic.

Step 4

After the final stretch and fold the dough sits at room temperature (between 20-24 °C) for 2 hours before being transferred to the fridge for 8-20 hours.

Step 5

The next day, remove the cold dough from the fridge and drizzle 3tbsp olive oil into a cast iron skillet. Both 26cm and 30cm pans work well. Alternatively use a 23 x 33cm (9x13 inch) rectangular baking pan.

Step 6

Rub some olive oil on your fingers and push the dough out to fill the pan. The cold dough will likely spring back at first, so press what you can and then wait 10 minutes before continuing.

Step 7

Once it has filled the pan, the dough needs to rise and double until it is jiggly and puffy. This can take between 3-7 hours depending on room temperature. You can cover the dough at this point or, brush it with 1 tbsp olive oil to stop the dough drying out.

Step 8

Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F) fan-bake or 230°C (446°F) regular oven.

Step 9

Once the dough has risen, use greased fingers to dimple the dough. Press in your favourite toppings and scatter over some coarse sea salt.

Step 10

Bake the focaccia for 20-25 minutes until deep golden brown.

Step 11

If using a cast-iron skillet, while it is hot from the oven, run a butter knife along the edge of the cast-iron skillet to loosen the edges, so that the bread can be lifted out easily. Lift the bread from the pan and place it on a cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.