This easy Sourdough Focaccia bakes up crispy and golden on the outside and soft, airy, and pillowy on the inside. It's topped with olive oil, sprinkled with flaky salt and herbs, and takes very little hands-on work.

While this recipe is not quite as easy as my No Knead Sourdough Bread and No Knead Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread, it's close, aside from a few stretch and folds at the beginning. If you can stir dough in a bowl and pour olive oil in a pan, you can make this focaccia.

Golden brown sourdough focaccia in a baking dish, ready to be served.

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Easy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

This homemade focaccia has the same irresistible flavor and texture as bakery-style focaccia - but made in your own kitchen, with your own starter and with ingredients you already have on hand.

The best part is that it is foolproof. Just mix, stretch, rest, and bake. Once you make it once, this focaccia will become part of your regular baking rotation. Trust me - that pan goes fast.

You Don't Need Special Equipment

You really don't. A 9x13-inch baking pan, a bowl, parchment paper, and your hands are all you need. No mixer, no Dutch oven, no dough hook attachment. The focaccia does not need shaping skills. It rises in the pan and bakes in the pan. It basically lives in the pan until you eat it.

What You'll Love About This Focaccia

Crisp, golden edges from the olive oil
Soft, airy interior with beautiful bubbles
Naturally fermented flavor from your sourdough starter
Almost no hands-on time
Perfect side for pasta, soups, salads, or snacking straight from the pan
Great for beginners and very forgiving

My Sourdough Focaccia Schedule

This is the exact timeline I follow. Adjust to fit your schedule:

Evening Before:

9:00 PM - Build levain (25g starter + 75g flour + 75g water)
Let rest at room temperature overnight

Next Day:

7:00 AM - Mix dough
7:05 AM - Cover and let rise
1:00 PM - Transfer to pan
2:00-3:00 PM - Second rise
3:00 PM - Dimple + toppings
3:20 PM - Bake
4:00 PM - Cool
4:15 PM - Slice and eat warm (or "taste test" several pieces while no one is looking)

Labeled ingredients for sourdough focaccia laid out on a wooden surface, including active starter, flour, water, salt, and olive oil.

Recipe Ingredients

Levain (Night Before). Building the levain (or sourdough starter) ensures your dough rises high every time. You'll need mature sourdough starter, all-purpose bread flour, and warm water (90°F). You can make Homemade Sourdough Starter, buy it from Aldi, or order sourdough starter from Amazon.
Bread Flour. I get the best results when using all-purpose bread flour. But if you only have regular all-purpose flour, go ahead and use that.
Salt. I like using sea salt. Pink or white both work.
Water. Use filtered water for the best results. I use a digital thermometer to make sure it's 90°F.
Olive Oil. This gives focaccia its signature crisp edges and rich flavor. You'll need about 4 tablespoons total - some for the bowl, some for the pan, and some for topping. Use a good-quality extra virgin olive oil if you can - the taste really comes through.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Perfect Sourdough Focaccia

I know, it looks like a lot of steps. BUT I have broken the entire process down into small steps to make this recipe super easy.

Evening Before: Build the Levain (5 minutes + overnight rest)

Stir starter, flour, and warm water together in a clean pint jar. Cover loosely and let sit overnight.

How to know it's ready by morning:

Doubled in size
Bubbly throughout
Slight dome on top
Smells pleasantly tangy
Passes float test

Bubbly, active sourdough starter in a glass jar, ready to use for making focaccia.

Next Morning: Mix the Dough (5 minutes)

Add 100g of your active sourdough starter to a large mixing bowl with 375g of warm water, and stir to combine. Add 500 g of bread flour and 10g of sea salt. Mix until no dry flour remains. I usually finish mixing the dough with my hands. If you wet your hands with water, they won't stick as much. The dough will be very wet and sticky. This is normal.

Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the dough and turn it so it is fully coated. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes. Sticky dough = airy focaccia. Do not add extra flour.

Step-by-step photos showing how to mix sourdough focaccia dough: combining starter and warm water, adding flour and salt, mixing the dough, kneading by hand, drizzling with olive oil, and coating the dough before rising.

Stretch and Folds (Adds height and bigger bubbles)

Every 30 minutes for 1-1.5 hours, do a quick set of stretch and folds right in the mixing bowl:

Grab a section of dough
Stretch it up
Fold it over itself
Turn the bowl
Repeat 3-4 times

A hand pulling the wet dough up for the first stretch and fold.

The wet dough in the mixing bowl after the stretch and folds are performed.

First Rise (or Bulk Rise) (5-7 hours)

Cover the bowl tightly and place it in a warm spot (an oven with the light on works great). My oven has a PROOF mode, so that's what I use. It's ready when:

It has doubled
The surface looks airy
It jiggles when the bowl is shaken
You see bubbles along the sides

If your kitchen is cool, you'll need a longer rise time. Trust the dough more than the clock.

The dough in the bowl before the first rise.

The dough in the same bowl after the first rise.

Transfer to Pan (2 minutes)

Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Gently scrape the dough into the pan. DO NOT punch it down. Oil your hands and stretch the dough toward the edges. If it resists, leave it alone - it will relax during the second rise.

Second Rise (1-2 hours)

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the focaccia dough rest until it looks light and puffy. If the dough hasn't naturally spread to the corners, stretch it one more time. You should see surface bubbles - that's your fermentation at work.

Olive oil drizzled in the bottom of a baking dish.

The dough in the baking dish resting, showing bubbles on top.

Dimpling + Toppings

Preheat oven to 450°F. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top of the dough. Press your fingertips straight down to form deep dimples. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, herbs, or any toppings you like.

Jeri's hand making dimples in the focaccia dough.

The focaccia sprinkled with herbs before baking.

Bake (20-25 minutes)

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 450°F until the top is golden brown with crisp edges.

Cool & Slice

Cool for 10 minutes in the baking dish. Transfer to a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve. Enjoy!

The golden focaccia bread cooling in the white baking pan.

Variations

You can add any toppings you like. Some of my favorites are:

Fresh rosemary + coarse salt
Cherry tomatoes + basil or oregano
Olives + thyme
Garlic butter + Parmesan

Jeri's Top Tips

Your dough will feel sticky. That is exactly what you want for focaccia. Don't add more flour to "fix" it. The hydration is what gives you those beautiful air pockets and that soft, pillowy center.
Use more olive oil than you think. This is the secret to those crisp, golden edges that make everyone hover around the pan waiting for you to cut it.
If the dough won't stretch to the corners, stop. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes and it will relax. Forcing it makes it tighten up even more.
Metal pans brown better. A 9×13 metal pan gives you the best crust. Glass works, but the bottom won't get as crisp.
Cold ferment. If you want a deeper sourdough flavor, place the dough in the fridge after the bulk rise and bake it the next day. It's almost impossible to mess up.
Watch the bake near the end. Every oven runs differently. If your focaccia looks pale, give it an extra minute or two - but don't walk away.

Storage Instructions

Focaccia keeps really well. Once it has cooled, wrap it tightly or place it in an airtight container. It stays fresh at room temperature for about 2 days. To bring back the crisp edges, warm it in the oven at 350°F for 8-10 minutes.

For longer storage, freeze the focaccia after it has cooled completely. Cut it into squares, wrap each piece, and place them in a freezer-safe bag. It freezes for up to 2 months. Let it thaw at room temperature, then reheat at 350°F until warm and crisp again.

If you want to make it ahead, bake it the day before, cool it fully, wrap it well, and reheat just before serving.