Sourdough Discard Focaccia

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This same-day sourdough discard focaccia bread recipe is full of flavor. It’s a no-fuss recipe for light and fluffy focaccia bread that uses up your sourdough discard.

The dimpled dough is soaked in olive oil and topped with sea salt, baked to crispy perfection with a light and fluffy inside!

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What is Sourdough Discard Focaccia

Focaccia bread is an Italian bread flavored with a good amount of quality olive oil, rosemary, and sea salt. Sourdough discard focaccia is made using sourdough starter discard (unfed and inactive) and a pinch of yeast to make it rise.

Equipment You’ll Need

Focaccia bread can be made using the most basic of kitchen essentials.

Baking vessel (see below) – focaccia bread can be made in a variety of baking vessels. See below for more details and my favorite.

Stand mixer (optional) – knead for double the suggested time if kneading by hand.

What to bake focaccia bread in?

You can bake focaccia bread in any pan that has a lip on it. My favorite is a cast iron skillet since the bottom becomes nice and crispy.

• 9×13 cake pan or casserole dish
• Cast iron skillet (preferred)
• Baking sheet
• any pan with a lip

Recipe Highlights

• Uses up sourdough discard
• Same-day recipe
• Variety of flavor options
• No-fuss recipe with little hands-on time
• Crispy exterior with light and fluffy inside

How to Make Sourdough Discard Focaccia

Oil-soaked crisy focaccia bread with a spongey and light interior. This focaccia bread is the perfect accompaniment to tons of meals.

Ingredients (and substitutes)

• Sourdough starter discard – this should be inactive and unfed. If using active starter, omit the yeast.
• Instant yeast – just a pinch will get you the rise you need. Omit if using an active starter.
• All-purpose flour – if using a different flour, be sure to adjust the hydration of this dough accordingly.
• Bread flour – you can use all-purpose in place of this, but you’ll need to adjust the hydration.
• Warm water
• Sea salt
• Extra virgin olive oil – this is for flavoring the top of the dough, you can also use melted butter.
• Flaky sea salt – this is optional but gives the focaccia a classic and delicious flavor.
• Toppings – toppings are optional, see below for ideas.

Step by Step Instructions (with photos)

• Mix the ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with dough hook until a smooth and elastic dough is formed. Dough should not be sticky.

• Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.

• Spread the dough into a skillet and use olive oil-dipped fingers to dimple the top of the dough then pour a couple more tbs of olive oil overtop the dough.

• Let the dough rest another hour or so until puffy.

• Top with toppings if desired.

• Bake at 400F for 30-40 minutes until a golden brown crust forms on the top.

How to Store Sourdough Discard Focaccia

As with any homemade bread, this focaccia is best eaten say day, but can be stored and reheated for later. Store this focaccia at room temperature for up to three days. Reheat in a 325 degree oven until warmed through.

Sourdough Discard Focaccia Tips

Although this is a no-fuss sourdough discard focaccia recipe, there are a few tips for making it the best loaf possible.

• Measure in grams – using grams gives you the most accurate results.
• Read the dough – read the dough by examining how sticky, elastic and smooth it is, then add more flour as needed.
• Bake in cast iron – using a cast iron skillet gives the focaccia a crispy crust soaked in olive oil which is so good!
• Dimple the dough – this helps to prevent the focaccia from puffing up too much and losing its spongey texture.

How to Make Sourdough Discard Focaccia Healthier

Everyone has a different philosophy on what “healthy” looks like to them; these are the ways I would make this recipe healthier.

• Long-ferment – long fermenting the dough instead of using commercial yeast will yield a more digestible sourdough focaccia bread. See the timeline below for how you can do this using this recipe.
• Use butter – olive oil is a manufactured oil that is high in polyunsaturated fat which isn’t tolerated as well by some people as butter.
• Use an ancient grain – using wheat like einkorn flour which hasn’t been hybridized will make this focaccia healthier. Be sure to reduce the water content in the recipe by about 20% if making this swap.

Baker’s Timeline

Same-day focaccia

Noon – mix dough

12:15pm – let it rest

2:15pm – transfer dough to pan and let rise again

4:15pm – bake dough

5pm – let cool and serve

Overnight focaccia

If you’re using an active sourdough starter, you can long-ferment this dough.

Day 1: Noon – mix dough

12:15pm – let it rest

Day 2:15pm – transfer dough to pan and let rise again

4:15pm – bake dough

5pm – let cool and serve

Serving Suggestions

There are tons of fun and out-of-the-box ways you can eat focaccia bread. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Make it into a pizza
2. Dip in olive oil
3. Dip in marinara sauce
4. Chocolate sauce dip

Sourdough Discard Focaccia Flavors

Part of the fun of focaccia bread is topping it with a delicious variety of flavors. Whether you like a simple sea salt and olive oil focaccia or something more, here are some ideas for how to flavor your sourdough discard focaccia bread.

• Pesto
• Sundried tomato
• Olives
• Caramelized onions
• Sea salt
• Garlic butter
• Herbs (rosemary is a classic for focaccia)
• Pepperoni
• Cheese
• Grapes
• Cinnamon sugar
• Everything bagel seasoning

Shop This Post

(These affiliate links help to support this blog at no extra cost to you. Your support means the world to me!)

• Berkey water filter (we use the Royal because we drink an insane amount of water!)

• Thrive Market – 25% off & free gift! (where I get a ton of my ingredients)
• Azure Standard: $25 off your order. Code kyrieluke1
• Dutch oven
• Stand mixer
• Boos Block Butcher Block
• 12 inch Cast Iron Skillet

More Sourdough Discard Recipes

Sourdough Discard Bread

Banana Bread Using Sourdough Discard

Sourdough Discard Bagels

Flatbread using Sourdough Discard

Sourdough Discard Muffins

Shop my Six Month Meal Plans

Shop for my six month meal plans here. These will help give you a restful dinner-time routine by giving you all your recipes laid out in a weekly meal plan format for 6 months.

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