Sourdough Focaccia {Light + Airy Focaccia Recipe} - crave the good (2024)

FAQs

Why isn t my focaccia airy? ›

Why is my focaccia not fluffy or chewy? It could be the type of flour you used. The best flour to use to make focaccia bread is bread flour which gives you fluffy baked bread. Or, it could also be because you did not knead the dough enough for the gluten to form a structure which can result in flat or dense bread.

Focaccia is basically a deconstructed sourdough loaf. So it's the same ingredients but with a different shape, and you don't actually need to put any effort into shaping it like a traditional sourdough loaf. And an added bonus... there's no need to knead this dough.

I love rosemary focaccia, so I use fresh rosemary, but you can try a different blend of herbs if you'd like to (or leave them out and just make garlic focaccia). Flour: All-purpose flour or bread flour is perfect for making focaccia bread. I use all-purpose most of the time since that's what I stock in my kitchen.

Why is my sourdough Focaccia dense? Most likely your sourdough starter was not active enough or is too new. It could also have over fermented and left to rise too long. Another possibility is that the water added was too hot and it killed the yeast.

Between stretches and folds you probably need to leave the dough a minimum of an hour, to allow time for the bubbles to grow bigger and new ones to emerge. You might want to allow 60-90 minutes after the dough has been mixed before doing the first one, then perhaps 2-3 more times spaced about an hour apart.

Can you overproof focaccia dough? You can definitely overproof focaccia, but it is difficult. There is so much oil in the dough, and very little sugar, so the yeast is "sleepy" or slow due to both of those elements and less likely to overproof.

Venetian focaccia is sweet, baked for Easter and resembles the traditional Christmas cake panettone. Sugar and butter are used instead of olive oil and salt. Focaccia barese, which is common in Puglia in southern Italy, is made with durum wheat flour and topped with salt, rosemary, tomatoes or olives.

Benefits for your figure and your health

Rather, focaccia provides complex carbohydrates that slowly give the body energy and help better regulate blood sugar levels,” Schirò explains. If it's made with whole wheat flour then it's got an extra edge. “It provides a greater amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

What is the best flour for sourdough bread? ›

Whole wheat flour is an excellent choice for creating a sourdough starter due to its nutrient-rich composition and potential for fostering a robust microbial community. However, it's important to note that the quality of whole wheat flour can vary between brands.

Honey: Honey adds a sweetness to this dough and helps balance any sour flavor that comes through from the fermentation process. If you are looking for whole wheat bread without the honey, try this recipe. Salt: Salt enhances the flavor and helps tempers the fermentation.

Now, focaccia uses plenty of olive oil, not only in the dough, but for kneading, proofing, in the baking pan, and on the bread's surface before baking. All this fat means the texture is light, moist and springy, the crust emerges golden and crisp, plus the center stays soft for days afterwards.

Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Keep in the freezer for one month. Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh in a 325°F oven until warmed through and crispy again, about 5 minutes. Day-old bread can also be chopped up, baked at 375°F for about 10 minutes, and used as croutons!

Oven temperature: If the oven is too cold, it can lead to dense bread as it doesn't heat the gases in the dough enough to make them expand and rise. Preheat the oven and don't leave the door open too long when placing focaccia inside. This ensures the oven is nice and hot.

It's likely due to the yeast. Your yeast could be expired, and it's time to buy fresh. Or, it's possible that your warm milk/water/liquid was too hot and it killed your yeast. Yeast is a living organism, after all.

If mixed too long the dough can become loose and sticky. The water that was absorbed by the flour gets released back into the dough and the gluten structure breaks down. After this there is no way to fix it. It will be a loose, soggy, and sticky mass unable to hold in fermentation gasses.

Knead the dough properly.

Too little, and you may not distribute the yeast through the dough. The dough will then be too weak to be able to rise. Too much kneading may make the dough so tough that it cannot expand. The dough should feel smooth and elastic, not tight like a rubber ball, or soft like biscuit dough.