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

FAQs

How do you get more air bubbles in focaccia? ›

Stretching and folding the dough

Take one side of the dough, stretch and fold bringing the dough to the opposite side of the bowl. Rotate the bowl one quarter and repeat another 3 times. (See video for details of the stretch and fold technique.)

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.

Dough development takes place during the mixing process to convert the flour proteins into a gluten matrix that has the elasticity to allow the bubbles to expand in later stages. Gases are generated by yeast action and/or chemical leavening agents to expand the bubbles and create the desired aerated bread structure.

Flour - I used a mixture of bread flour and All-purpose flour (high grade or strong and plain if you're not in the US). Bread flour is slightly higher in protein than All-purpose, so gives the focaccia just a little more chew. I love the mix of both, but just AP flour works just fine too!

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.

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.

Use your favorite kind—I prefer extra virgin olive oil. Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: I tested this focaccia with both and prefer the bread flour variety. Both are great, but bread flour has a higher protein content so it yields a chewier texture.

What are the two types of focaccia? ›

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.

A moderate consumption of focaccia bread can be healthy. It is because complex carbs in focaccia offer the body energy slowly and help control blood sugar levels. In addition, it gains an advantage if it contains whole wheat flour. It is also rich in vitamin, mineral, and fibre content.

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.

#1 — Use a lighter flour.

Whole wheat flour (hard red) is the heaviest flour I know. Now, the hard white variety of whole wheat is lighter and sweeter, so that one thing could improve your bread. If you go with spelt or even einkorn, you will get even lighter results, in my experience.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.

To make the characteristic focaccia dimples, oil your fingertips and press firmly into the top of the focaccia. As you work, stretch the focaccia dough evenly into the pan, until it reaches all the edges of the pan. Let the focaccia rise again for 30-60 more minutes. Bake the focaccia!

We can add air to a dough by using a leavening agent, specifically baking soda or baking powder. The baking soda releases carbon dioxide when it comes in contact with water and acid, foams up and expands inside our dough. You might not think dough is acidic, and you're not mistaken.

High hydration dough: I prefer to use a dough that is around 75% hydration (the percent of water relative to the amount of flour). This will encourage a lot of gas bubbles, a chewy crust and a complex flavor.

Not just for aesthetic flair, dimpling the dough is a vital step because it expels air from the dough, preventing it from rising too fast, giving it that perfect crumb. That, combined with the weight of the oil, will prevent a puffed-up poolish that more closely resembles a loaf than a tasty crust.