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    Home » Sweet & Savory Sourdough

    Published Jan 3, 2020 · Updated Jul 26, 2022 · by Tammy Spencer · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Sourdough Discard Focaccia with Rosemary

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    Sourdough Focaccia piled in purple towel lined basket next to a wine glass Pinterest banner.
    Pieces of sourdough focaccia on a cutting board Pinterest banner.

    This flavorful, easy sourdough discard focaccia is at home at a casual supper or an elegant meal. You can customize the toppings or keep it simple with salt and rosemary. It's a perfect way to use your sourdough starter discard!

    Sourdough Focaccia cut in basket this …

    Why this recipe works

    • An easy focaccia bread dough that uses unfed sourdough starter
    • You can customize the toppings or keep it simple with salt and rosemary
    • A flavorful bread with the subtle tang of sourdough

    Isn’t it wonderful when one recipe can yield so many different variations? This easy sourdough focaccia recipe is made using sourdough starter discard (that's the starter that you remove from your starter container when you feed it).

    Actually, when I’m at a creative loss for uses for my unfed starter discard, this is my go-to bread recipe I use to make pizza, naan, ciabatta, stromboli, or just plain loaves or buns.

    Even though I do use commercial yeast in the dough, the sourdough starter discard still lends its tangy flavor adding more depth to the item. Yummm….

    Jump to:
    • Why this recipe works
    • Focus on focaccia
    • What you need
    • How to make sourdough discard focaccia bread
    • Questions asked and answered
    • Pro Tip: You can leave out the commercial yeast
    • Light, airy, tangy, delicious
    • Related Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    Focus on focaccia

    Hailing from Italy, focaccia is a flat oven-baked bread similar in style to pizza, but generally shaped and topped differently.

    Focaccia bread can be made thick enough to slice in half for a sandwich or thin to just be a vehicle for its toppings (like a bread-based tart). I generally make my homemade focaccia in between those two extremes, but it’s really dependent on the amount of dough and the size of the pan.

    My basic bread dough recipe comes from Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. It’s an easy-to-remember 5 : 3 recipe ratio of 5 parts flour to 3 parts water (by weight), with some salt and yeast added. I’ve made sourdough pretzels and bagels with great success using this ratio adapted for using sourdough starter.

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    What you need

    The ingredients for a sourdough discard focaccia recipe consist of all-purpose flour, water, yeast, salt, and extra virgin olive oil. That part is pretty much set.

    sourdough focaccia ingredients in their packaging.
    Ingredients for sourdough focaccia

    Toppings for sourdough focaccia at its most basic are olive oil and a sprinkling of coarse salt. Here the toppings are kept simple: just finely chopped fresh rosemary, salt, and more olive oil.

    I like to make sourdough focaccia bread with rosemary by chopping it up with the salt. Some other ideas could be other chopped fresh herbs (thyme and oregano come to mind), roasted and chopped onion or garlic, drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped olives, chopped…uhm...I could go on but you get the idea. Whatever you choose, be sure to chop them into ¼-inch or smaller pieces to ease in distribution and biting.

    If you start adding meats or cheeses, then this to me becomes a pizza, and that’s a whole other ball o’...uhm...dough.

    Collage of chopping fresh rosemary with salt.
    Chopping the rosemary with the salt helps to release the essential oils in the rosemary as well as break up the coarseness of the salt

    How to make sourdough discard focaccia bread

    Step 1: Make the dough

    You can make the dough with sourdough starter 2 ways. I like the first method because it's more accurate.

    Method 1 - Use a scale: To determine the amount of additional flour and water you'll need, measure the sourdough starter discard into the bowl of a stand mixer using a kitchen scale. Divide the measured amount in half. That is the amount of flour and water you already are using (that is, if your sourdough starter is 50/50 flour to water, like mine). Measure in enough additional flour to the bowl so that the total amount (including the amount from the starter) is 15 ounces (425 grams). Add the salt and yeast. Next, pour in enough warm water so the total amount is 8 ounces (227 grams). Add the 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.

    Method 2 - Use volume measurements: If you have 1 cup of sourdough starter, add in 2¾ cups flour and ½ cup water to start the dough. Add the salt, yeast, and olive oil.

    Start with the lesser amount of water to account for the humidity of the day. If the dough is too dry, add in 1 tablespoon water as needed until the dough is the right consistency.

    Once you've got all the dough ingredients measured, combine the dough on low speed for about a minute, then turn up the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes (photo 1).

    Collage of before & after mixing focaccia dough.
    Knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic

    Step 2: Let the dough rise

    Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and put in a warm place to rest until doubled, about 3 hours (photo 2). The oven with just the light on works well.

    If you want to develop the sourdough flavor even more, you can put it in the refrigerator after this first rise for up to 3 days. Let it come to room temperature for about an hour before shaping.

    Collage of dough before & after dough rising.
    The dough should rise in a warm place until doubled

    Step 3: Shape the dough

    Lightly brush a baking stone with olive oil. Press the dough out into a rectangle, or your desired shape (photo 3).

    Collage of pressing out focaccia dough.
    Pat out the ball of dough to shape the focaccia bread

    Step 4: Proof & dimple the dough

    Cover the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, heat the oven to 400 °F.

    Brush more olive oil on the top of the dough. Dimple the dough using 2 fingers, then sprinkle on your toppings (photo 4).

    Collage of dimpling focaccia.
    The last prep steps before the trip to the oven

    Step 5: Bake the focaccia

    Bake the focaccia for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove it from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack (photo 5). Allow it to cool completely before slicing.

    Collage of sourdough focaccia before & after baking.
    From raw dough to golden-brown goodness

    Step 6: Slice the focaccia

    Slice the focaccia to your desired size (photo 6). I sometimes make croutons from the trimmings, but more often than not I just nibble them while I'm slicing!

    Collage of slicing focaccia.
    Slicing the dough required lots of will power!

    Questions asked and answered

    Here are some questions you might have...

    How thick should focaccia be?

    We haven't really talked about the type of baking pan to use. I use a well-seasoned medium baking stone (about 8- x 12-inches) and I push the dough out to the edges. This produces a focaccia that's about 1½ inches high.

    You can vary the thickness by varying the amount of dough you make and/or the size of the pan you use. If you don't have access to a baking stone, a quarter sheet baking pan or half sheet baking pan lined with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper works well. Just shape the dough as thin or thick as you'd like.

    How do you store focaccia sourdough?

    Sourdough focaccia is best served fresh. It can be stored for several days in an airtight container at room temperature. Note that the salt will melt into the bread and the bread itself will not be as soft.

    For longer term storage, freeze the cut pieces in an airtight container for up to 1 month, or the whole bread, well wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, for up to 6 months.

    Why are dimples made in focaccia bread?

    According to Seasoned Advice, those dimples are there to catch some of the olive oil, improving the crust’s taste and texture. I’m not going to argue!

    Pieces of sourdough focaccia on a cutting board.

    Pro Tip: You can leave out the commercial yeast

    If you don't want use commercial yeast in this sourdough ciabatta recipe, replace the yeast in this recipe with ½ cup (114 grams) of active, fed starter, and reduce the amount of flour by about ½ cup (57 grams) and water by about ¼ cup (57 grams). The rising time will be longer (about double) for both the first and second rises.

    Light, airy, tangy, delicious

    This is the best sourdough focaccia recipe around. Light and airy, the bread is flavorful from the olive oil, rosemary, and salt, with the subtle tang from the sourdough discard. When you customize it with your topping choices, you can pair it with your meal.

    The wonderful thing about sourdough focaccia bread with rosemary is that it can go from a week-night supper to an elegant dinner party with ease. We've even used it as a dipper for cheese fondue!

    Plus, its recipe ratio is simple to remember (5 : 3 flour to water). You can easily figure out how much extra flour and water to use depending on how much discard you have (keep that kitchen scale handy!).

    I hope you’ll keep this sourdough discard focaccia recipe in your back pocket for those times you want a use for your sourdough starter discard. You’ll be amazed at what you can make!

    Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!

    Tammy

    Related Recipes

    When you maintain a sourdough starter, you have a dilemma. What do you do with your unfed sourdough starter discard? I've got lots of suggestions for sweet and savory ways to use your fed sourdough starter and the sourdough starter discard.

    And if you sign up to receive my weekly featured recipe email, I'll send you the recipe for Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread. Just click the subscribe button below. Enjoy!

    • Easy Sourdough Discard Crumpets
    • Sourdough Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Bread
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    Recipe

    Sourdough Focaccia piled in purple towel lined basket next to a wine glass.

    Sourdough Discard Focaccia with Rosemary

    Tammy Spencer
    This flavorful, easy sourdough discard focaccia is at home at a casual supper or an elegant meal. You can customize the toppings or keep it simple with salt and rosemary. It's a perfect way to use your sourdough starter discard!
    4.78 from 9 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Resting Time 4 hrs
    Total Time 4 hrs 45 mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 24 pieces
    Calories 67 kcal

    Equipment

    • stand mixer with dough hook attachment
    • kitchen scale
    • medium baking stone
    • pastry brush
    Prevent your screen from going dark while cooking

    Ingredients
     
     

    For the dough

    • 1 cup sourdough starter discard, unfed, at room temperature, see Recipe Notes
    • 2¾ cups all purpose flour, or more as needed
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon instant yeast, or rapid rise, see Recipe Notes
    • ½ to ⅔ cup water, warmed between 100°F to 110°F, see Recipe Notes
    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

    For the toppings

    • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or amount desired
    • extra virgin olive oil, as needed

    Instructions
     

    • To determine the amount of additional flour and water you'll need, measure the sourdough starter discard into the bowl of a stand mixer using a kitchen scale. Divide the measured amount in half. That is the amount of flour and water you already are using (that is, if your sourdough starter is 50/50 flour to water, like mine).
    • Method 1 - Use a scale: Measure in enough additional flour to the bowl so that the total amount (including the amount from the starter) is 15 ounces (425 grams). Stir in the salt and yeast. Next, pour in enough warm water so the total amount is 8 ounces (227 grams). Add the 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
    • Method 2 - Use volume measurements: If you have 1 cup of sourdough starter, add in 2¾ cups flour and ½ cup water to start the dough. Add the salt, yeast, and olive oil.
    • Continuing: Once you've got all the dough ingredients measured, combine the dough on low speed for about a minute, then turn up the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes.
    • Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover and put in a warm place to rest until doubled, about 3 hours. The oven with just the light on works well.
    • If you’re baking on the same day, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, refrigerate the dough, tightly covered in the bowl, until you’re ready to bake (up to 3 days). This will also develop more flavor. Allow the dough to come to room temperature for an hour before continuing.
    • Finely chop the fresh rosemary with the salt, or prepare the toppings of your choice. See recipe notes for some other topping suggestions.
    • Lightly brush a medium baking stone with olive oil. Press the dough out into a rectangle. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, heat the oven to 400 °F.
    • Brush more olive oil on the top of the dough. Dimple the dough using 2 fingers, then sprinkle on your toppings. Bake the focaccia for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
    • Remove the focaccia from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Serve with olive oil for dipping if desired and enjoy!
    • Sourdough focaccia is best served fresh. It can be stored for several days in an airtight container at room temperature. Note that the salt will melt into the bread and the bread itself will not be as soft.
    • For longer term storage, freeze the cut pieces in an airtight container for up to 1 month, or the whole bread, well wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, for up to 6 months.

    Notes

    If you use Active Dry yeast, then you might want to sprinkle yeast on to the warmed water with a teaspoon of sugar and allow it to sit for a few minutes before proceeding with the recipe. Letting it foam "proves" the yeast is active and ready to go to work.
    If you don't want use commercial yeast in this sourdough ciabatta recipe, replace the yeast in this recipe with ½ cup (114 grams) of active, fed starter, and reduce the amount of flour by about ½ cup (57 grams) and water by about ¼ cup (57 grams). The rising time will be longer (about double) for both the first and second rises.
    Start with the lesser amount of water to account for the humidity of the day. If the dough is too dry, add in 1 tablespoon water as needed until the dough is the right consistency.
    Vary the toppings as desired. Try roasted onions or garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, or olives. Be sure to chop them into ¼-inch or smaller pieces (to ease in distribution and biting).
    If you don't have access to a baking stone, a quarter sheet baking pan or half sheet baking pan lined with a Silpat silicone mat or parchment paper works well. Just shape the dough as thin or thick as you'd like.

    Your Notes

    Click here to add your own private notes

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 pieceCalories: 67 kcalCarbohydrates: 13 gProtein: 2 gFat: 1 gSaturated Fat: 1 gSodium: 195 mgPotassium: 17 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 1 gVitamin A: 2 IUCalcium: 2 mgIron: 1 mg
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    Reader Interactions

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Heather says

      January 03, 2020 at 11:49 am

      5 stars
      This looks delicious, can't wait to give it a try!

      Reply
    2. Shira says

      March 10, 2020 at 2:11 pm

      5 stars
      No joke, this is literally one of my favorite foods in the world.

      Reply
    3. Carrie says

      April 09, 2020 at 6:00 pm

      4 stars
      The recipe was very easy. My bread was dense and very crispy even though it’s not browned to the color of yours, It’s a very light golden. Not sure what I did wrong. Also it’s way too much salt on for the topping for me and I adore salt. I had to scoop out the salt from the pockets cause it all built up in there.

      Reply
      • Tammy says

        April 09, 2020 at 7:41 pm

        Hi Carrie, thanks for writing in. I think the denseness and crispiness has to do with the amount of flour added after you've measured your sourdough starter...too much flour = a heavier dough. Did you use the volume measurements or weigh the ingredients on a kitchen scale? If you use the volume method, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off. That will make sure the flour doesn't get packed in, resulting in more flour being added.
        As for the salt, just sprinkle on as much as you'd like. There's no set amount for that.
        I hope this helps. If you try again, let me know how it goes. Happy baking!

        Reply
    4. Julie Schleusener says

      April 29, 2020 at 4:24 pm

      When you say divide the amount of starter in half in the beginning..I don't understand. Are you only using half cup unfed starter then?

      Reply
      • Tammy says

        April 29, 2020 at 4:43 pm

        Hi Julie, good question. What I mean is I'm calculating how much flour and water is in the amount of starter discard I'm using by weight. Once I divide that weight in half, I can then figure out how much additional flour and water to add to get to a total of 15 oz of flour and 8 oz of water in the dough.

        For example, if my discard weighs 8 oz, I know I have 4 oz of flour and 4 oz of water in that discard. That means I'll need an additional 11 oz of flour (15 oz - 4 oz = 11 oz) and 4 oz of water (8 oz - 4 oz = 4 oz).

        The reason I go through all this is that I don't always have exactly a cup of starter discard, and I don't want to over or underestimate how much additional flour and water I'll need.

        I hope this explanation helps, if not, feel free to reach out again. Happy baking! 😉

        Reply
        • China says

          May 07, 2020 at 12:45 pm

          Hi so it’s a little confusing when you read the ingredient list opposed to when you say “total amount of water is 8oz” since you said the total weight is already 15 oz with the starter and flour. If I want to measure everything into the mixing bowl then wouldn’t it be 15oz of starter and flour and then add 4 oz water so total weight in mixing bowl would be 19 oz plus yeast and salt?

          Reply
          • Tammy says

            May 07, 2020 at 1:16 pm

            Hi China, sorry if I wasn't clear. Assuming you have 1 cup (8 oz) of sourdough starter discard, that would be 4 oz each of flour and water (assuming the starter is 50/50 flour & water). So in order to have 15 oz total of flour, you'd need to add 11 oz of additional flour to your mixing bowl (15-4=11). For the water, you want a total of 8 oz of water, so counting the 4 oz already in the starter, you'd add an additional 4 oz to your bowl (8-4=4).

            The reason I'm advising you to weigh in your starter and make up the difference to get to 15 oz flour & 8 oz water is that I don't always have exactly 8 oz of discard in any given week. If I weight my starter first, I'm going to be more accurate in how much additional flour and water I need.

            I hope this helps. If not, feel free to ask again. Happy baking!

            Reply
    5. Allegra says

      May 13, 2020 at 6:52 pm

      Smells great! Tastes great. I couldn't dimple mine though, it was too sticky! Maybe less water next time?

      Reply
      • Tammy says

        May 13, 2020 at 7:26 pm

        the dough shouldn't be too sticky, so yes, perhaps less water. Glad you liked the finished product!

        Reply
    6. Andrea says

      June 24, 2021 at 7:24 pm

      4 stars
      This turned out pretty well. It was a little dry, but I can't fault the recipe as I didn't weigh and pay super careful attention to my ratio of water to flour. The flavor and consistency were excellent, so I think next time I just might add a bit more olive oil on the top before baking so it gets crunchier and adds a little moisture. I love the flavor that the sourdough adds to it!

      Reply
      • Tammy Spencer says

        June 24, 2021 at 9:56 pm

        Hi Andrea, Thanks for your comments. I’m glad you likes the recipe, & know what will work for you the next time. Happy baking!

        Reply

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