My Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia bread has a crisp, chewy crust, a fluffy center, and a delicious black pepper, sun-dried tomato, and rosemary topping. It is extremely easy to make with a minimum of effort; the perfect recipe if you are just starting to work with sourdough and/or bread making.
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We love freshly baked homemade bread recipes, from Homemade Sandwich Bread to Homemade Wheat Tortilla Bread, Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread, Homemade Sourdough Dinner Rolls, and Banana Bread. And there is nothing more satisfying than the aroma of freshly made Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia, totally addictive!
I make it a few times a month to serve with Salmon&Spinach Pasta, Zeytinyagli Kereviz Yemegi - Braised Celeriac, Easy Homemade Peri Peri Chicken, or a bowl of Mediterranean Lentil Soup.
Making Sourdough Focaccia is extremely simple and is perfect for both beginners and experienced bakers. No fancy equipment or tricky shaping techniques are required. However, it requires some patience, lots of love, and an active, fed starter that’s just peaked and bubbly.
What is Sourdough Focaccia Bread
Focaccia is a classic Italian oven-baked flatbread that has a similar texture to pizza. It is traditionally made with a generous amount of yeast. However, sourdough focaccia is made with a bubbly, active, and fed sourdough starter as a leavening agent.
The rising time of Sourdough Focaccia bread takes longer than the yeast version in order to develop the signature bubbles. Also, it has a slightly chewier texture and a unique depth of flavor coming from the sourdough starter.
The most popular way to serve Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia is to serve it as a table bread for dips, as a side dish to your favorite soups, stews, and pasta dishes, or as a sandwich bread.
Why This Recipe Works?
- This Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia bread recipe doesn't require any special equipment.
- It is effortless to make and is perfect for both beginners and experienced bakers.
- You can use many different toppings, such as hard cheese, garlic, dried herbs, or cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Sourdough starter - It is the essential ingredient of this sourdough focaccia bread recipe. You need an active, strong, fed starter that’s just peaked and bubbly in order to achieve beautiful bubbles as the dough ferments. If you don’t have a starter, you can buy a starter kit online from Amazon.
- Flour - I use plain/all-purpose flour but you can substitute it with strong white/bread flour.
- Olive oil - Use good quality, great-tasting olive oil for the best flavor and crispy texture. I use Filippo Berio for most of my recipes including this delicious Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia bread.
- Toppings - I used freshly ground black pepper, fresh rosemary leaves, sun-dried tomatoes, and Maldon sea salt for this recipe. You can also use olives, fresh tomatoes, grated hard cheese, garlic, and anchovies.
How to Make Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia
Prepare the Dough
Place your sourdough starter in a large bowl and add the water. Mix them together until combined.
Sift the flour into the bowl, add the salt, honey, and olive oil, and incorporate using your hands or a spatula until you form a wet sticky dough.
Cover your bowl with cling film and leave it to rest for around 30 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation
After 30 minutes, do the first set of stretches and folds to build strength into the dough. Stretches and folds encourage the formation of gluten in the dough. Use a wet hand to grab the dough from one side and stretch it over itself, repeating this four times around the bowl.
Cover and rest for 20-30 minutes, and repeat this process 2 more times (3 times in total). After the last stretch and fold, leave the dough to prove for 2-3 hrs (or for up to 18 hours in the fridge), until it rises by about 40%.
You should see some small bubbles on the surface. The proofing period is flexible and depends on the temperature. Let it prove longer during the colder months if necessary, and vice versa, if it's warm, it might prove quicker.
Second Rise
Grease a deep nonstick baking tray, size of 23 cm x 33 cm (9" x 13") with some olive oil and carefully transfer the dough onto the tray.
If you don't have a nonstick tray, make sure you oil the pan's interior generously so the focaccia doesn't stick during baking. Let the dough relax for 20 minutes, and then rub your hands with a little olive oil.
Pull the edges out to gently stretch them to fill the tray. The dough should be about 4 cm (1 ½" tall). It doesn't have to be perfect, as it will naturally fill the tray during proofing.
Place the dough in a warm spot, and cover it with an upside-down sheet pan to avoid it touching the dough. Let it rise until it is pillowy, puffy, and very bubbly. This stage might take about 2 to 3 hours, depending on the temperature.
Shape the Focaccia and Bake
Preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F). Once the dough has risen, filled the tray, and is looking puffy, and very bubbly, you need to dimple it with your oiled fingertips. You should be pressing down firmly but gently all the way down through the dough, hitting the pan.
Sprinkle on generously with flaked sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and rosemary. Gently press the sun-dried tomatoes into the dough deep enough to avoid them popping out while baking.
Place the tray in the middle rack of the preheated oven, and bake the focaccia for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Let the focaccia cool down for a few minutes in the pan, then place it on a wire rack to avoid its bottom getting soggy. Let it cool down for 20 to 30 minutes before cutting it into squares.
What to Serve with Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia
There are many ways to serve this delicious Italian flatbread. You can enjoy it as a snack with a dip such as Smoked Salmon Pate, Haydari (Turkish Yogurt Dip), or Mediterranean Hummus Dip.
Focaccia bread is also a great side dish to serve along with Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Pasta, Sulu Kofte - Turkish Meatball Soup, Marry Me Chicken, and Slow Cooked Lamb Tagine with Apricots.
You can also make delicious sandwiches with Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia, or use it as a pizza base and top it with your favorite toppings.
Top Tips From the Chef
- You need an active, strong, fed starter that’s just peaked and bubbly in order to achieve beautiful bubbles as the dough ferments.
- Stretches and folds are necessary to encourage the formation of gluten in the dough.
- The proofing period is flexible and depends on the temperature. Let it prove longer during the colder months if necessary, and vice versa, if it's warm, it might prove quicker.
- For a stronger sourdough flavor, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours rather than the shorter bulk ferment at room temperature.
- Use a non-stick pan for baking your sourdough focaccia bread. If you don't have one, make sure you oil the pan's interior generously so the focaccia doesn't stick during baking.
- The focaccia dough should be about 4 cm (1 ½" tall).
- When dimpling the dough, press down firmly but gently all the way down through the dough, hitting the pan.
- Gently press the sun-dried tomatoes (or any other extra toppings you want to add) into the dough deep enough to avoid them popping out while baking.
Recipe FAQs
You can keep this delicious focaccia bread in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Make sure you let them cool down to room temperature and wrap them tightly with a cling film before storing them.
Yes, this recipe works perfectly with bread flour as well. However, you might need to adjust the amount of water slightly until you achieve the desired consistency.
You can bake Sourdough focaccia on a regular rimmed sheet pan or rectangular metal pan. Make sure your pan is very good quality nonstick.
If you don't have a nonstick pan, line it with parchment paper or spread enough oil on the pan to prevent the focaccia bread from sticking.
Related Recipes
For more delicious flatbread recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this flavorsome Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia bread as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Black Pepper Sourdough Focaccia
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter (active and fed) (4 ½ oz/125 grams)
- 1 ⅓ cups water (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 cups plain white flour / all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sourdough Focaccia Toppings
- 1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
Instructions
Making the Dough
- Place your sourdough starter in a large bowl and add the water. Mix them together until combined.
- Sift the flour into the bowl, add the salt, honey, and olive oil, and incorporate using your hands or a spatula until you form a wet sticky dough.
- Cover your bowl with cling film and leave it to rest for around 30 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation
- After 30 minutes, do the first set of stretches and folds, to build strength into the dough. Use a wet hand to grab the dough from one side and stretch it over itself, repeating this four times around the bowl.
- Cover and rest for 20-30 minutes, and repeat this process 2 more times (3 times in total).
- After the last stretch and fold, leave the dough to prove for 2-3 hrs (or for up to 18 hours in the fridge), until it rises by about 40 %. You should see some small bubbles on the surface. The proofing period is flexible and depends on the temperature. Let it prove longer during the colder months if necessary, and vice versa, if it's warm, it might prove quicker.
Second Rise
- Greeze a deep nonstick baking tray size of 23 cm x 33 cm (9" x 13") with some olive oil and carefully transfer the dough onto the tray. If you don't have a nonstick tray, make sure you oil the pan's interior generously so the focaccia doesn't stick during baking.
- Let the dough relax for 20 minutes, and then rub your hands with a little olive oil. Pull the edges out to gently stretch them to fill the tray. The dough should be about 4 cm (1 ½" tall). It doesn't have to be perfect, as it will naturally fill the tray during proofing.
- Place the dough in a warm spot, and cover it with an upside-down sheet pan to avoid it touching the dough. Let it rise until it is pillowy, puffy, and very bubbly. This stage might take about 2 to 3 hours, depending on the temperature.
Shaping and Baking the Focaccia
- Preheat the oven to 200° C (390° F).
- Once the dough has risen, filled the tray, and is looking puffy, and very bubbly, you need to dimple the dough with your oiled fingertips. You should be pressing down firmly but not abruptly all the way down through the dough, hitting the pan.
- Sprinkle on generously with flaked sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and rosemary.
- Gently press the sun-dried tomatoes into the dough deep enough to avoid them popping out while baking.
- Place the tray in the middle rack of the preheated oven, and bake the focaccia for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let the focaccia cool down for a few minutes in the pan, then place it on a wire rack to avoid its bottom getting soggy. Let it cool down for 20 to 30 minutes before cutting it into squares.
Video
Notes
- You need an active, strong, fed starter that’s just peaked and bubbly in order to achieve beautiful bubbles as the dough ferments.
- Stretches and folds are necessary to encourage the formation of gluten in the dough.
- The proofing period is flexible and depends on the temperature. Let it prove longer during the colder months if necessary, and vice versa, if it's warm, it might prove quicker.
- For a stronger sourdough flavor, the dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours rather than the shorter bulk ferment at room temperature.
- Use a non-stick pan for baking your sourdough focaccia bread. If you don't have one, make sure you oil the pan's interior generously so the focaccia doesn't stick during baking.
- The focaccia dough should be about 4 cm (1 ½" tall).
- When dimpling the dough, press down firmly but gently all the way down through the dough, hitting the pan.
- Gently press the sun-dried tomatoes (or any other extra toppings you want to add) into the dough deep enough to avoid them popping out while baking.
Fran says
This recipe was a total hit at my house! I can’t thank you enough for this AMAZING recipe.