Sourdough Discard Focaccia Recipe
The only homemade focaccia recipe you will ever need! This sourdough discard focaccia with rosemary bakes up beautifully with a crispy golden brown crust, and the discard adds complex flavor. If you plan ahead, you can do the chilling stage overnight and bake your focaccia in the morning.
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 256kcal
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
Ingredients
- 5 ¾ cups bread flour
- 2 ½ cups water, divided
- 1 cup sourdough discard***
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (from one ¼-oz. packet)
- pinch of sugar
- 1 Tablespoon sea salt
- 5 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided, plus more for greasing and drizzling)
- 2 Tablespoons rosemary, roughly chopped
- 1 Tablespoon flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Combine flour, 2 cups room-temperature water, and sourdough discard in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low speed, scraping down sides and hook as needed to incorporate any dry flour, until a shaggy dough forms.
- Remove dough hook and cover bowl with plastic. Let sit while you prepare the yeast (you can leave the dough in this state up to 2 hours).
- Stir yeast, sugar, and ½ cup warm water with a fork in a small bowl to dissolve. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Pour yeast mixture into stand mixer bowl and mix on low speed until dough absorbs all additional water, about 1 minute (mixing on low speed will prevent liquid from splashing over the sides). Add sea salt and continue to mix, increasing speed to medium, until dough is extremely elastic and very sticky (it will look more like a thick batter and will start to slap sides of bowl), about 5 minutes.
- Pour 3 Tbsp. oil into a large bowl and swirl to coat sides. Scrape in dough with a large spatula or flexible bench scraper. Cover and place in a warm spot until dough is doubled in volume, 2–3 hours.
- Drizzle 2 Tbsp. oil over a baking sheet and use a pastry brush or your fingertips to rub all over bottom and sides. Using a large spatula or flexible bench scraper, fold dough inside bowl a couple of times to deflate, then scrape onto prepared baking sheet. Using oiled hands, lift up dough and fold over onto itself in half, then rotate baking sheet 90° and fold in half again. Cover dough with a piece of well-oiled plastic and let rest 10 minutes to let gluten relax.
- Uncover and go back in with oiled hands, gently stretching dough (to avoid tearing) across length and width of baking sheet in an even layer, working all the way to edges and into corners. If dough starts to spring back, let sit 5–10 minutes and start again. Cover again with same piece of oiled plastic and chill at least 8 hours and up to 24.
- Let sheet pan sit in a warm spot until dough is puffed and bubbly and nearly doubled in height, 45–65 minutes. Meanwhile, place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 450°.
- Remove plastic and drizzle dough generously with more oil. Oil hands again and press fingertips firmly into dough, pushing down all the way to bottom of pan to dimple all over. Sprinkle with rosemary and flaky sea salt.
- Bake focaccia until surface is deep golden brown all over, 25–35 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes. Slide a thin metal spatula underneath focaccia to loosen from sheet pan (it may stick in a couple of places, so really use those muscles) and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely before cutting as desired.
- Tightly wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- ***If not using discard, simply add ½ cup flour and ½ cup water to mixture to replace discard.
- Plan ahead. The final step of resting your dough takes a minimum of 8 hours, so plan accordingly. If you plan ahead, you can do this step overnight and bake your focaccia in the morning.
- Don’t be afraid of the amount of olive oil used in this recipe; I promise it needs it! If you cut back on the oil, your focaccia will be too dry.
- Be patient. When resting the dough to let it double in size, be sure to let it do its thing. If the dough takes a bit longer, try to not rush the process.
- How to store: Store your focaccia in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Because it's made with olive oil, it gets better with age!
- How to freeze: Wrap focaccia slices in foil and place in a freezer bag. Store in the freezer (it freezes very well!) for up to 3 months.
- Recipe adapted from bon appétit.
Nutrition
Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 1165mg | Potassium: 85mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 12IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg