Fresh focaccia is so good and much less fussy than baking sourdough bread. I really like the salty and olive oil taste and adding rosemary and olives can make a really nice snack. The rising is very forgiving but I have been really careful to double the initial amount by putting the dough in a container and drawing the initial line. Once the dough doubles can place in a non stick 9x13 pan with some olive oil and just let the dough expand to fill the space. When the dough is nice and bubbly you can dimple with fingers then bake. Or sometimes if not convenient can just put in the fridge for hours or overnight until ready to bake. I have also left the initial rise in the fridge. The rising is really dependent on season and temperature in kitchen. On a hot humid summer day double may take 4 hours while in January may be overnight. The Maldon salt has big diamond shaped crystals and is much easier to spread than kosher salt.
Ingredients
- 100g active and fed sourdough starter
- 10g kosher salt
- 430g water
- 512g flour
- 3T extra virgin olive oil
- flaky sea salt, Maldon
- fresh rosemary, olives, other toppings optionally
Steps
- mix water, sourdough start, salt, flour in a bowl
- let sit for 30m, then perform a stretch and fold about 8-10 times all the way around the dough
- drizzle with olive oil and let rise 4-18h depending on the weather and season
- deflate dough and place in 9x13 inch nonstick pan, can add more oil
- leave alone to let rise for about 4-6 hours until the dough looks bubbly and fills the pan
- dimple with fingers and spread some flaky salt and optionally oils or rosemary
- preheat oven to 425 F
- bake 25m until golden all around
- slice after letting cool for about 20m
