Sourdough Focaccia

Why This is the Best Recipe

1. Easy Bread Machine Recipe: I love using the DOUGH program on my bread maker to make homemade breads in my oven. They mix up beautifully and take out so much of the hands-on effort time!
2. Prep Ahead Friendly: Planning a special meal for a holiday? This is an amazing prep-ahead recipe since the dough needs to rest in the fridge overnight. You can bake it fresh right before serving with less effort than opening a can of refrigerator biscuits!
3. Crispy Crust, Chewy Insides: Sourdough starter brings the tang but also makes the focaccia extra crispy on the outside with a soft and springy inside.

Ingredients

This simple homemade bread only requires a few simple pantry ingredients:

• Sourdough Starter: Just getting started with sourdough starter? This is a great discard recipe for after you feed your sourdough.
• Olive Oil
• Honey
• Bread Flour: Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose flour and helps your bread keep its shape. If you don't have bread flour, you could substitute all-purpose but the texture will be softer and less chewy.
• Instant Yeast: You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast, it does not need to be specifically labeled for bread machines.
• Herbs: I love the convenience of this Mediterranean herb blend and the variety of herbs in the mix. You could also use just plain fresh or dried rosemary if you prefer.
• Kosher Salt: For the bread dough itself.
• Flaked Sea Salt: For sprinkling over the top. I personally love Maldon.

Bread Machine Tips

As the author of The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook, I'm very passionate about baking homemade bread with a bread maker.

If you're curious and wondering if a bread maker is worth it, not only do I think the answer is yes but I've reviewed the most popular bread machine for beginners.

For this recipe, I used my Cuisinart bread maker, my go-to pick any time I'm making dough for baking in my oven.

The Best Bread Machine for Beginners

Is a Bread Maker Worth It?

Essential Bread Baking Tools and Equipment

50 Best Bread Maker Recipes

Baking Schedule

There is very little hands-on time needed to make homemade focaccia when you start with a bread machine.

On Day 1 you'll just need 15 minutes:

• 5 minutes to load the bread maker
• 5 minutes to transfer the prepared dough to a bowl for a second rise
• 5 minutes to pat the dough into a baking pan

Then the dough rests in the fridge overnight.

On Day 2 you'll just need 25 minutes:

• 1 minute to pour olive oil over and sprinkle the salt on top of the bread
• 20 - 25 minutes to bake it

The tricky part is planning ahead for the sourdough focaccia to rest in the fridge for 14 - 16 hours. This long rest helps the sourdough flavor to really shine through.

If you load the bread maker at 5pm tonight, you could be popping the focaccia into the oven by 11 am tomorrow. Just in time to have it fresh for dinner tomorrow night.

Prep the Dough

To make the sourdough dough in the bread machine, start by adding the sourdough starter discard, water, olive oil, and honey to the bread machine pan fitted with the paddle attachment.

Add the bread flour, kosher salt, and dried herbs right on top. Dig a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast.

Place the bread pan in the bread machine and choose the DOUGH program. This usually takes about 90 minutes.

Just before the dough is ready, brush a large mixing bowl with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and remove the paddle.

Turn the dough over a couple times to coat in oil and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for another 60 minutes.

Brush a 9x13-inch baking pan with more olive oil and transfer the dough to the pan.

Gently pat the dough into place. If it shrinks back, let it rest for 10 minutes and try again.

Overnight Rest

Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and place the sourdough in the fridge to rest overnight.

The sourdough needs at least 14 hours to rest but you can let it chill for up to 24 hours in advance.

Baking Instructions

When you're ready to bake the sourdough, place a baking stone in the center of the oven and preheat it to 425°F for at least 30 minutes.

Take the bread pan from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Let it come to room temperature while the oven preheats.

When the oven is ready, drizzle more olive oil over the top and gently spread it over the surface with your fingers. Gently press indentations on the top over the surface of the bread.

Sprinkle the sea salt over the top.

Transfer the pan of focaccia directly on top of the baking stone and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until it is golden brown.

Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Make Ahead Tips

Focaccia can be baked in advance and served room temperature and it is still delicious but if you prefer it to be served warm for dinner, you can let it chill right up until dinner time and bake it fresh or you can bake it earlier in the day and simply reheat it in the oven before serving.

You could also freeze the baked focaccia wrapped tightly in aluminum foil. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and warm it in the oven before serving.

Serving Suggestions

I love to serve fresh focaccia on pasta night when we're eating something with a rich tomato sauce like my classic beef bolognese or on soup night, especially with a tomato-based soup like my tomato pastina or Tuscan chicken soup.

You could use squares of sourdough focaccia to make Italian panini with prosciutto or turkey and a spread of pesto sauce and fresh tomatoes.

You could also cut the focaccia into dippable squares or fingers for serving with olive oil and balsamic vinegar or as a unique dipper for hummus.

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More Sourdough Recipes

Looking for more easy sourdough discard recipes? Here are a few of my favorites:

Sourdough Discard Pizza Crust

Sourdough Blueberry Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

Sourdough Discard Brownies

Sourdough Discard Waffles