Sourdough Focaccia

Combine flour, 380g warm water, and starter in a large bowl. Mix with your hands or a spatula until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 30–45 minutes.

Dissolve salt in the remaining 50g water and pour over dough. Squeeze and fold through fingers for 2–3 minutes until fully incorporated. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes.

Perform 3–4 coil folds every 30 minutes: reach under the center of the dough, lift it up, and let the ends fall down and fold underneath. Rotate 90° and repeat. The dough will go from ragged to smooth and pillowy.

After folds, bulk ferment at room temperature until the dough is very puffy, jiggly, and has grown about 75%. This takes 2–4 more hours at room temp, or you can refrigerate overnight (8–16 hours) for a more flavorful result. Cold ferment is strongly recommended.

Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into a rimmed 13×18-inch sheet pan (for thin focaccia) or 9×13-inch pan (for thick focaccia). Transfer dough to pan. Gently stretch to fill the pan as best you can. If it springs back, let it rest 20 minutes and try again.

Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 2–4 hours until very puffy and wobbly when you shake the pan.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Drizzle remaining olive oil generously over the dough. Wet your fingers thoroughly and push deep dimples all the way to the bottom of the pan across the entire surface. Press garlic slices, rosemary, tomatoes, or olives into the dimples. Sprinkle liberally with flaky salt and cracked black pepper.

Bake 20–25 minutes until deeply golden on top and the bottom is crispy and brown (lift a corner with a spatula to check). Immediately transfer to a cooling rack and brush with a final drizzle of good olive oil while still hot. Slice and serve warm. This is the bread that requires no butter, no accompaniment, and no occasion.