An Easy Overnight Sourdough Focaccia
There’s something magical about sourdough baking. The transformation of simple ingredients—flour, water, salt, and wild yeast—into something so alive and delicious feels like alchemy. If you’re new to sourdough baking, focaccia is a wonderful place to start. Its forgiving texture, rich flavour, and versatility make it a rewarding choice for beginners. This particular recipe keeps things simple and stress-free, allowing time to work its magic overnight while you sleep.
Why Sourdough Focaccia?
Focaccia is one of the most forgiving breads to make. With its rustic nature and imperfections, its bubbly, airy crumb makes it look impressively artisanal—regardless of your skill level. What’s more, focaccia is versatile: perfect as a side dish, sandwich base, or simply torn apart and dipped into olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity. By allowing the dough to prove overnight at room temperature, you avoid complex shaping techniques. Your sourdough starter takes care of the work while you rest.
Tips for Success
1. The Starter: A healthy sourdough starter is key. Make sure yours is bubbly and *active and double in volume.
2. Hydration: Sourdough focaccia is a wet dough, which helps create its characteristic open crumb and pillowy texture. Don’t panic if it feels sticky; resist the urge to over-flour. Instead, use a wet hand to handle it.
3. The Overnight Prove: Room temperature proves are wonderfully hands-off. However, if your kitchen is particularly cold (below 18°C), the dough may take longer, and you might need to extend the proofing time slightly.
4. The Morning Bake: After the overnight prove, the dough should be well-risen and jiggly. Don’t worry if it’s spread out or uneven—focaccia is naturally freeform. The key is to handle it gently to preserve those precious air pockets.
Finally
What truly sets focaccia apart is its topping. Before baking, the dough is dimpled all over with your fingers and generously drizzled with olive oil. These dimples act as little pools to hold flavour. Keep it classic with just a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and rosemary, or get creative with toppings like cherry tomatoes, olives, or even roasted garlic.
So, if you’re eager to dip your toes into the world of sourdough, start with this focaccia. The process is simple, the result is delicious.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE FOR Easy sourdough focaccia?
I’d love to hear how it turned out! Let me know in the comments below, or share a photo on Instagram and tag @nordickitchenstories.
Easy Sourdough Focaccia
Equipment
- 20cm deep square tin
- or 1kg bread tin
Ingredients
- 320 g organic strong white bread flour
- 254 g water
- 51 g *active sourdough starter preferably white
- 7 g fine sea salt
- 7 g Extra Virgin olive oil extra for greasing and plenty for pouring on the top
Flavour with..
- Sea salt flakes
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- olives
- sun-dried tomatoes
- capers
- cherry tomatoes
- roasted garlic
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the water, salt, and oil. Stir until the salt is dissolved. Add the starter and mix well, then incorporate the flour. Stir with a spoon until no dry flour is visible; the mixture will be loose and won’t hold its shape.
- Cover the bowl with a damp towel or shower cap and leave it to rest on the work surface for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, use the pinch-and-fold technique to fold the dough until it becomes smooth with a wet hand. Cover and rest for another hour.
- Perform a second pinch-and-fold using a wet hand. Cover and let the dough rest for 1 hour.
- Repeat the pinch-and-fold process with a wet hand, cover, and rest for 1 more hour.
- Fold the dough once more using the pinch-and-fold method. Cover and let it rest on the counter for 1 hour.
- Lightly coat a pan with olive oil, ensuring full coverage. Set aside.
- Fold the dough again a wet hand. Remove it from the bowl and place it into the prepared pan, smooth side down. Cover with a damp towel and let it rest on the work surface for 10–16 hours. (Ideal temperature is 18C)
Day 2 – Baking
- Preheat the oven to 230˚C with the fan.
- Once preheated, uncover the dough. Drizzle olive oil over the surface and firmly dimple the dough using lightly wet or oiled hands. Add flavourings of your choice.
- Bake the dough covered for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake uncovered for a further 15 minutes, or until the crust is dark golden brown.
- Remove the focaccia from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before serving.
Fennel and Leek Galette
Hi, I think you forgot the olive-oil for the dough in your recipy…?
Hi, do you mean to drizzle on the top of the foccacia? I haven’t stated an exact amount, but approximately 60mls (4 Tbls).
No, i mean in the dough itself. Most recipy’s put about 100 ml olive oil in the dough (500g flour). And i thought 51g of starter is a bit of an odd number, maybe a type-error?
Hi again. This focaccia recipe contains 320g flour, and I prefer less oil in the dough as there is plenty drizzled on the top. 51g is in fact correct. All the best, Louise