Sourdough Foccacia (7h)

• 423g all-purpose flour
• 181g high-protein bread flour
• 12g extra virgin olive oil
• 459g water
• 11g salt
• 115g ripe sourdough starter

1. Mix (9:00 a.m.)

Mixed all ingredients except the olive oil by hand until incorporated. Mix until the dough strengthens and holds together.

Let the dough rest or 10 minutes.

Drizzle on the olive oil and knead until all of the olive oil is absorbed and the dough comes back together. Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover.

2. Bulk fermentation (9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.)

Give the dough 4 sets of stretch and folds at 30-minute intervals, where the first set starts 30 minutes after the start of bulk fermentation.

3. Proof (11:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.)

Liberally oil the inside of a 20×30cm rectangular pan. Gently scrape the dough out of the bulk fermentation directly into the rectangular pan. The dough will proof in the pan for 4 hours. Every 30 minutes for the first hour, uncover the pan and gently stretch the dough with wet hands to the pan’s edges to encourage it to fill the pan. The dough will naturally spread out during this proofing period, so it’s unnecessary to spread the dough aggressively. Once the dough is mostly spread to the edges, cover the pan and let it proof for the remainder of the 4 hours. 

About 30 minutes before the end of the 4-hour proof period, preheat your oven to 230°C with an empty rack in the bottom third.

3b. Overnight proof option

Mid-way through the 4-hour proof, place the covered pan with dough in the refrigerator to proof overnight. The next day, take the dough out, bring it up to room temp, finish proofing until well-risen and bubbly, and continue with the Top & Bake step.

4. Top & Bake (3:15 p.m.)

When your oven is preheated, dimple the top of the dough all over with wet fingers. Then, liberally drizzle on olive oil to cover the surface of the dough. Spread on chopped herbs and coarse sea salt. Bake until golden on the top and bottom, about 30 minutes. Let the focaccia cool in the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack. It’s wonderful straight from the oven, and best the day it’s baked.

Overnight Foccacia

→ Video

Time

• 2h 30 min on first day
• 3h 30min

Ingredients

• 560g bread flour or Italian 00 flour, with 12% protein content
• 100g-200g Sourdough discard
  • add 20% of sourdough weight as grams of water on top (e.g. 100g sourdough + 20g water to account for dry starter)
• 470g lukewarm water (27°C to 37°C)
  • Adjust water depending on flour is, you might need to add more water to get the wet dough consistency. So if your dough is dry, don’t be afraid to add more water.
    • 
• 15g salt
• 15g honey
• 1 tbsp (~15g) extra virgin olive oil, plus lots more for greasing the tray and drizzling
• 7g dried yeast

Instructions

1. Mix
   • Combine water, salt, honey, 1tbsp olive oil and yeast and whisk thoroughly.
   • Mix in sourdough discard
   • Add the bread flour and mix using a large spoon until well combined and hydrated.
   • Scrape down the sides and cover for 30 minutes.
2. 4 Stretch and folds
   1. Stretch and fold from all 4 sides, cover and rest for 30min
   2. Stretch and fold from all 4 sides, cover and rest for 30min
   3. Stretch and fold from all 4 sides, cover and rest for 30min
   4. Stretch and fold from all 4 sides
3. Cover dough and place into fridge over night
   • If you want to skip, let it sit for another 40 min at room temperature instead NEXT day
4. In a 23x33 cm (9x13”) tray
   • add baking paper
   • on top 3 to 4 tbsp of olive oil (be generous with the oil) and spread
5. Carefully perform one last series of stretches and folds in the bowl and gently place the dough into your tray. Drizzle with more olive oil.
6. Cover well and proof for around 2 hours at room temperature (still cold from the fridge)
   • If you skipped cold retard, let proof for ~1 hour
7. After the final proof
   • Preheat the oven to 220°C (Ober- und Unterhitze)
   • Drizzle the dough with more olive oil (yes, really!). Cover your hands with oil, and gently make dimples in the dough. Jiggle the dough to spread the it out in the pan. (See the video for details).
8. Add toppings of your choice
   • E.g. Apply a bit of tomato sauce with a brush and add cherry tomatoes cut in half and olives
   • OR top with coarse salt, olives and rosemary - Bake 25 to 35 minutes (it’s done when the top is golden and crispy).
   • Once it gets dark, cover with aluminium foil and bake another 10 minutes until inner temp is 99°C - Remove from oven and brush with olive oil and add a bit of salt - Let it rest for at least 10 - 15 min

Add the toppings of you choice, making sure the toppings are oiled to prevent burning. And bake.

Bake the focaccia

• Preheat the oven to 220°C (Ober- und Unterhitze)
• bake 30 to 35 minutes (it’s done when the top is golden and crispy).
  • Cover top with aluminium foil and bake for another 10 min
  • Inner temperature should be 99°C
  • If bottom does not bake through, cover top with aluminium foil
• Remove from oven and wait for at least 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into it.

Reheat the next day

Put it in the oven at 175°C for about 10 minutes to re-crisp the outside and warm the interior.