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I love bread as much as everyone else and from what I can tell, bread loves me too because I’ve been packing on the pounds. With world events and all, I’ve been turning to comfort food more and more and there is nothing more comforting than carbs. I love carbs in all forms, but bread is especially good because it can be fluffy and crisp and just the best vehicle for other flavors. Focaccia happens to be one of the pillow-iest breads of them all so of course a sourdough focaccia was bound to happen sooner or later.

This is a recipe for a petite small batch sourdough focaccia, just 6 inches across. It’s just the right amount for two or maybe even just one person who likes to eat bread. It’s crisp and fluffy, dimpled with pools of glossy olive oil and finished off with a generous snowing of flaky sea salt.

Like most sourdough breads, this sourdough is made in two parts. The first day, the dough is mixed and left to bulk proof, then it’s placed in the fridge for a slow ferment to build flavor. The next day, the dough is proofed at room temp until it is impossibly bubbly and airy before being gently dimpled and drizzled with oil and baked. The result is phenomenal when warm from the oven and just as good at room temp.

A couple of notes: the two day process is what gives the foccacia it’s flavor, allowing your sourdough starter to do it’s thing and impart it’s specific flavor notes to the dough, so it’s absolutely necessary. The other key to good focaccia is good olive oil. It’s a huge flavor profile of the bread so break out the good stuff that has fresh herbaceous grassy notes with a tiny hint of spiciness on the finish. You can finish your focaccia with fresh herbs, olives, or tomatoes, but I kept it simple with just a light sprinkling of rosemary.

Small Batch Sourdough Focaccia

Serves 1 6" round loaf

4.64 from 11 votes

Ingredients

• 24 grams mature starter see note
• 97.5 grams water
• 86 grams 00 flour see note
• 50 grams bread flour
• 2.5 grams sea salt plus extra to finish
• 3.5 grams extra virgin olive oil plus extra to finish
• rosemary optional

Special Equipment

• 6 inch round pan
• kitchen scale

Instructions

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the starter and water, then stir in flour and salt. Mix on low until a shaggy ball forms, then mix with olive oil for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl.
  
• Let rise for two hours, completing stretch-and-folds four times, every half and hour. (To stretch and fold: lightly wet your hands and gather your dough at the top of the bowl and lift with two hands towards the ceiling, lifting and stretching enough so that you can fold the dough over on itself, tucking it into the opposite side. Repeat on all four sides.)
  
• After two hours, grease a 6 inch round pan with olive oil and line with parchment. Using lightly oiled hands, round the dough into a ball and transfer to the pan, cover with plastic and let rest for two hours at room temperature - there won’t be much of a rise, more of a spreading out and loosening of the dough. Place in the fridge overnight.
  
• The next day, 1-3 hours before you want to bake, proof at room temp for 1-3 hours until the dough rises and becomes quite airy looking.
  
• Heat the oven 445°F. Drizzle on olive oil and dimple the dough with your fingers, pushing your fingers all the way down to the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with flaky salt and fresh rosemary. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate and continue to bake for 10 more minutes. Remove and let cool slightly, then remove from the pan and enjoy!
  

Notes

Follow these instructions to make your own starter.

I used all purpose flour and added 1.5 g vital wheat gluten to give it a bit more strength, bringing the protein content of my flour up to a typical bread flour protein percentage.

You can also use all bread flour if you don’t have 00 - it will be a touch less soft.

Adapted from https://schoolnightvegan.com/home/sourdough-focaccia/