Herb Sourdough Focaccia

By Chef Heidi Whitney-Schile

Ingredients

Preparation

Step 1 – Take your sourdough starter and weigh it into a large bowl.  

Step 2 – Add your warm water to your sourdough starter. Note: the water should be the same temperature as your skin when you touch it, this is around 98-100 degrees F.

Step 3 – Add your flour and salt to the starter mixture and mix thoroughly.

Step 4 – In a separate bowl pour ¼ c of olive oil. Place your dough into the oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.  

Step 5 – After 30 minutes gently stretch and fold your dough, deflating it and elongating the gluten strands. I tend to fold it 4-6 times, then place your dough back into the same oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and rest for another 30 minutes.  

Step 6 – Place your herbs and gruyere on top of your dough. Then gently stretch and fold again. This will allow your herbs and cheese to be gently folded into your dough. Once folded place back into the same bowl again and cover for 30 minutes allowing it to raise again.  

Step 7 – While it raises prepare your baking pan. Take a large loaf pan and lightly grease.  

Step 8 – Preheat your oven to 425F.

Step 9 – Final Stretch! Gently stretch and fold your dough 4-6 times again. Place into your prepared loaf pan. Pour any oil still in your bowl over the dough and top with an extra pinch of sea salt.  

Step 10 – Allow your bread to rise until it doubles in size. Using your fingers make indents into your bread.  

Step 11 – Bake approx. 40 minutes (check at 20 minutes to see if it needs to be covered with foil, cheese loves to burn).  

Step 12 – Your bread should be golden and cooked all the way though.  

Step 13 – Allow to cool for a minimum of 30 minutes before enjoying.  

Note: Don’t have sourdough starter? No problem: make a mixture of 245g flour, 245g warm water and 10g yeast. Use this instead of sourdough starter.