Baking
Sourdough Focaccia
A wet dough, a cold night in the fridge, and more olive oil than feels reasonable.
Nell Farrow
Focaccia is forgiving in every way except hydration. At 75% water the dough is slack, sticky and difficult to handle, and that is exactly the point: the water turns to steam in the oven and blows the crumb open.
The cold night
Mix, fold four times over two hours, then into the fridge overnight. The cold slows the yeast and lets the flavour develop without the dough overproving. It comes out in the morning bubbled and slack and smelling faintly of beer.
Oil the tin, not the dough, and oil it heavily. Dimple with wet fingers right down to the base of the tin. The pools of oil that collect in the dimples are what fry the top as it bakes.
Rosemary goes on late
Pressed in before the final prove it burns. Scattered on as it goes into the oven it perfumes the whole loaf and stays green.
At a glance
Servings
8
Prep time
30 min
Cook time
25 min
Course
Baking
What this recipe actually costs
Prices are the ones we paid this month. Swap in your own shop's numbers and the figures below recalculate as you type.
4 ingredients across 8 servings
The dough should be wet enough that you doubt it. That doubt is the open crumb.