Sourdough Focaccia with Garlic and Onions

 

Today, I bring you Sourdough Focaccia! Have you ever tried to made focaccia? My only other attempt was a long while ago and it wasn't great.  I'm sure it was baker's error.  I've been seeing some very tempting sourdough focaccia photos on Instagram lately, and since I still have a lively sourdough starter from the start of the pandemic, I decided to give focaccia another try. Oh my, this was delicious!  Even my husband commented on how good it tasted. 

I served the focaccia as an accompaniment to soup that night but it would be a delicious accompaniment to any pasta dish or hearty salad.  You can also slice it in half horizontally and use it to make sandwiches.   

The recipe I used for this focaccia is adapted from @Breadtopia on Instagram and you can find the recipe on the Breadtopia blog. Included on their website is a yeast version if you don't have a sourdough starter. 

In ancient Rome, panis focacius was a flatbread baked in the ashes of the hearth.  The Latin word for hearth was 'focus' = 'focaccia'.  Focaccia spread across many countries....focaccia in Italian cuisine, hogaza in Spain, pogácsa in Hungary, and fougasse in Provence, among others.  

If you have an active starter, you will be as impressed as I was with the formation of bubbles in this recipe.  Sourdough baking can be a long process, as there is no yeast involved, but with this recipe, I had the focaccia in the oven within six hours after mixing the dough in the morning. 

It helped to use my oven as a proofing box, preheated only with the oven light turned on.  My oven light warms the oven to about 80-85 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have an oven thermometer, you can test how warm your oven gets with just the light on.  You don't want it to get warmer than 95F or you could kill the starter or yeast, if using.  If the oven light method doesn't work I've also read about using a pan of warm water on the bottom oven shelf. Or, you may want to try the 'overnight' version included in the recipe.  

I wanted to make a simple but flavorful topping for my first attempt at sourdough focaccia so I sprinkled freshly chopped green onions and chopped fresh garlic over the top before baking.  There are many other ways to top focaccia with some of the most popular choices being rosemary, olives, basil, sage, tomatoes and cheese.  

There is quite a bit of olive oil used in making and baking focaccia so you'll want to use a good tasting extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is also used to coat the bottom of the baking pan which gives the bottom a nicely browned crust as well.  

Sourdough Focaccia

Adapted from Breadtopia

Note: A digital kitchen scale comes in very handy.  I use mine all the time for baking to get more precise measurements.    

400 grams bread flour (about 3-1/2 cups)
75 grams whole wheat flour (slightly more than 1/2 cup)
345 grams water (1-1/2 cups)
143 grams sourdough starter (1/2 cup)
15 grams honey (2 tsp)
13 grams olive oil (1 Tbsp)
11 grams salt (2 tsp)

Additional coarse salt for sprinkling on top before baking,
Toppings of your choice (I used 4 chopped green onions and 2 large cloves of chopped garlic)

Make the Dough and First Proof:

Add all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed for about 2 minutes with the paddle attachment, and medium speed for another 8 minutes with the dough hook, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times. If necessary, you may mix by hand the same for the same amount of time. 

Move the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Note the time as the beginning of the first rise. (bulk fermentation). This is when I first put my dough into the oven with only the oven light turned on. 

After the dough has rested for 30 minute rest, either stretch and fold, or coil fold the dough four times (every 20-40 minutes) over the next 2-3 hours. Wet your hands before handling the dough, and cover the dough afterward. Here is a YouTube video showing both folding methods.  I put the dough back in the oven after every fold, which lasted 2 hours. 

Next, allow the the covered dough to continue rise undisturbed (using oven light warmth, if possible) for 2 more hours until it has almost doubled and is bubbly. 

Final Proof:

I used a non-stick 9 x 13 inch baking pan but you can also use a 13 x 18 inch pan which will yield a thinner focaccia.  If your pan is not non-stick, line it with parchment paper  Pour about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the bottom of the pan and cover the entire bottom and sides of the pan, or parchment, with the oil.   

Scrape the dough gently into the pan. With oiled fingers, push and press the dough out to the edges of the pan.  Dimple it with oily fingertips.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap or put it inside a large, plastic grocery bag, trying not to let the plastic touch the dough.  

Let rest 1-2 hours at room temperature (or overnight in the refrigerator, plus another 2-4 hours to warm up in the morning). The dough should look thicker and have some bubbles when the final proof is over.

Topping and Baking 

Place a flat baking sheet or pizza stone one rack up from the lowest oven rack. Preheat the oven to 450F for 20 minutes with a baking sheet and 30 minutes with a pizza stone.  

Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on the top of the dough and dimple it again. Add toppings and finally sprinkle it with coarse salt.

Place the focaccia pan in the oven on top of the hot baking sheet or pizza stone. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the pan and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. The internal temperature of the focaccia should be at least 200F. 

Remove the focaccia from the pan and parchment, and let cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be wrapped in parchment. 

Olive and Shallot Foccacia

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend I made the whole wheat focaccia from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  The recipe calls for dried cherries soaked in red wine and shallots.  Since we were having grilled Italian sausages that night, I decided use the same red wine-soaking method but with thick-sliced Kalamata olives and shallots>  I also added some fresh, chopped rosemary from my garden. You can see the pretty red color that the shallots took on from the wine.

The traditional method of poking your finger in the dough to make deep dimples was used and then the strained olives, shallots and rosemary were sprinkled over the top of the dough followed by a good drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground pepper. There was only a 20 minute rest before this bread went into the oven on a cookie sheet placed on the hot baking stone.

It turned out beautifully and tasted fantastic with our holiday weekend al fresco dinner! This bread is best served warm so I gently re-heated it on the grill just before we sat down to eat.  YUM!

THE MASTER RECIPE
Adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Makes enough dough for at least four 1-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

Ingredients
5½ c (1 lb, 9 oz) whole wheat flour
2 c (10 oz) all-purpose flour, unbleached
1½ tbsp (.55 oz) granulated yeast (2 packets)
1 tbsp (.55 oz) Kosher salt
¼ c ( 1 3/8 oz) vital wheat gluten
4 c (2 lbs) lukewarm water
Seeds for sprinkling over loaf, if desired
cornmeal or parchment paper for the pizza peel or flat baking sheet

Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or, preferably, in a resealable, lidded plastic food container or food-grade bucket (not airtight).

Warm the water until it feels slightly warmer than body temperature (about 100°F). Add all at once to the dry ingredients and mix without kneading, using a spoon, or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with paddle). You might need to use wet hands to get the last bit of flour to incorporate if you’re not using a machine.  Do not knead.

Cover the dough with a lid (not airtight) that fits well to the container. If you are using a bowl, cover it loosely with plastic wrap or a lidded (or even vented) plastic buckets designed for dough storage. Leave it open a crack for the first 48 hours to prevent buildup of gases; after that you can usually seal it. Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on the top), approximately 2-4 hours, depending on the room’s temperature and the water temperature added to the flour. After rising, refrigerate in the lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 14 days.  Fully refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and is easier to work after 24 hours in the refrigerator than dough at room temperature.

On baking day, prepare a pizza peel by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal (or line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent your loaf from sticking to it when you slide it into the oven. Dust the surface of your refrigerated dough with flour. Pull up and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-size) piece of dough, using a serrated knife or kitchen shears. Holding the dough in your hands, add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating a quarter-turn as you go to form a ball. The entire process should take no more than 20 to 40 seconds. If you work the dough longer than this, it might make your loaf dense.

Form a narrow oval-shaped loaf and let it rest: Stretch the ball gently to elongate it, and taper the ends by rolling them between your palms and pinching them.

Allow the loaf to rest, loosely covered with plastic wrap, on the prepared pizza peel or baking sheet for 90 minutes (40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Depending on the age of the dough, you might not see much rise during this period; instead, it will spread sideways. Rise will occur during baking.

Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal tray for holding water on the rack underneath.

Just before baking, use a pastry brush to paint the top of the loaf with water. Sprinkle with any seed mixture you desire. Slash the loaf with ¼-inch-deep parallel cuts across the top on an angle with a serrated knife.

After a 30-minute preheat, you’re ready to bake, even though your oven thermometer might not yet be up to full temperature.With a quick forward-jerking motion of the wrist, slide the loaf off the pizza peel and onto the preheated baking stone.

Quickly but carefully pour about 1 cup of hot water from the tap into the broiler tray and close the oven door to trap the steam. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is richly browned and firm to the touch (smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time). If you used parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a cookie sheet under the loaf, carefully turn the loaf over to brown the bottom of the loaf after 20 minute through baking.

Cool loaf on a baking rack before slicing.

Store the remaining dough in the refrigerator in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 14 days.

For the Olive and Shallot Foccacia

1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
1/4 cup sliced shallots
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 water
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Olive Oil for drizzling
Coarse Sea Salt and and Black Pepper for sprinkling

Place all of the above ingredients in a bowl and stir to blend.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a flat baking sheet. 

Cut off a grapefruit-size portion of the Master Recipe above and quickly shape it into a bowl, adding flour to your hands.  Pull the sides down to the underside in quarter turn motion, making a ball.  Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet.  Pat the dough into a rectangle or roll it with a rolling pin to 1/3-3/4 inch thickness.  Press your fingers into the dough making 'dimples'.  Allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty metal tray for holding water on the rack underneath.

Drain the olives and shallots and dry with paper toweling.  Spread over the dough and press in.  Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with sea salt and ground black pepper. 

Slide the dough onto the preheated baking stone and quickly add 1 cup of hot water to the baking pan below and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Remove and cut into wedges and serve warm. 

Whole Wheat Olive Oil Bread and Bocconcini de Foccacia

Here are two recipes made from the Whole Wheat Olive Oil Bread dough from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. With the dough, I decided to make a plain loaf of Whole Wheat Olive Oil bread and Southwest Foccacia.

This was a great whole wheat bread recipe!  My addition to the recipe was to sprinkle the dough with dried basil and Kosher Salt over the top of the bread before it went into the oven.  The bread has a lovely, moist crumb and was delicious warm and slathered with butter.  Great for sandwiches too!

Then, with some of the remaining dough I made these Bocconcini 'Foccacia' Bundles:

The Southwest Foccacia recipe intrigued me and I made my own spin on the recipe by making them into muffin-like bundles instead of a flat foccacia.  My friend Monique, at La Table de Nana had shared a recipe for 'Bocconcini de Foccacia' which were more like filled muffins rather than foccacia.  Made with the same whole wheat olive oil dough, these bundles are stuffed with roasted corn, sauteed onion and tomatoes and manchego cheese, although mozzarella would be another good choice.

Onions were sauteed in a little olive oil and then I added tomatoes from my garden that I had oven-roasted and frozen at the end of last summer. Sun-dried tomatoes could be used instead.  I tossed in some rosemary, basil and a little salt and pepper to taste.  I bought a fresh ear of corn, removed the kernels, added a little olive oil and roasted them in the oven.

>br/> I used small, plum-sized pieces of the whole wheat olive oil bread dough to make small discs and added the filling and a little cubed Manchego cheese.I pinched the bundles together, turned them over and placed them in muffin liners sprayed with Bakers Joy.

They were so delicious warm from the oven!

100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil 

Adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day 

Recipe can be Halved

7 cups white whole wheat flour (or use whole wheat flour)
1-1/2 Tablespoons yeast
1-1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
3-1/2 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees F)
1/2 cup olive oil

In a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten in a large, 5-quart bowl or container with lid (not airtight). Using a large wooden spoon mix in the olive oil and water, until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. You may need to wet your hands to incorporate the last of the flour but do not knead.

Cover the dough (not air tight) and let sit at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses or flattens out on top (about two hours.) Then you can use the dough right away, or for easier handling, refrigerate for a few hours or as long as ten days.

When ready to bake, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then remove a grapefruit sized piece of dough. Sprinkle with flour again, shape the dough into a ball by folding the sides under and stretching the top to a smooth surface. Put dough on a pizza peel, parchment paper, or cookie sheet to rest. (I use a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper to easily slip the dough onto a hot pizza stone in the oven.)

The dough needs to rest for 90 minutes, but after 60 minutes, place a pizza stone in the middle of the oven and a shallow baking pan on the rack below.  Begin preheating the oven to 450F/230C.  

After dough has rested for almost 90 minutes, brush the surface of the dough with water, then using a serrated knife, cut parallel slashes into the surface of the bread. (At this point I sprinkled the top of the bread with dried basil and kosher salt.)

Then slide the bread (and parchment paper if using) on to the hot pizza stone or baking sheet, and immediately pour 1 cup hot water into the other baking dish and shut the oven door. Bake bread for 30-35 minutes, until nicely browned. I like to turn the bread over after 20 minutes so the bottom of the bread will brown.

Remove and cool on a baking rack.  

To make the Bocconcini Bundles


You will need:

1 onion, chopped
1 ear of corn, kernels removed  (can substitute frozen)
6 ounces Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Red pepper flakes

1/2 cup diced or shredded cheese, such as manchego or mozzarella
1/2 teaspoon each dried rosemary and basil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Saute the onion in a pan with a little olive oil.  Add the chopped tomatoes, red pepper flakes and corn and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add seasoning and allow to cool.

Cut off plum-sized pieces of the whole wheat olive oil dough and press each one flat.

Add the diced cheese to the cooled mixture and place about 1 tablespoon of mixture for each 'bundle'.  Pinch together and place in sprayed muffin cups seam-side-down. 

Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes.