No-Knead Sourdough Focaccia (The Easiest Bread You’ll Ever Make)
If your first loaf feels intimidating, start here. Focaccia forgives almost everything, needs no shaping skills, and comes out of the oven looking like you’ve been baking for years.
Ingredients (one 23×33 cm / 9×13 inch pan)
- 400 g bread or all-purpose flour
- 320 g water, room temperature (80%)
- 80 g active sourdough starter, bubbly and recently fed
- 9 g salt
- Olive oil — generously, for the pan and the top
- Flaky salt and rosemary for finishing
Method
- Mix flour, water, starter and salt into a wet, sticky dough. Don’t worry — wet is right. Cover.
- Fold twice, 30 minutes apart: wet your hand, stretch a side up and over. That’s all the “kneading” there is.
- Rise at room temperature 4–6 hours until puffy and alive with bubbles — or refrigerate overnight after 2 hours and bake tomorrow.
- Pan: pour 2–3 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan, tip the dough in, and gently stretch it toward the corners. If it resists, wait 15 minutes and try again — it will cooperate.
- Final proof: 1–2 hours, until pillowy.
- Dimple: oil your fingers and press firmly all the way down, everywhere. Drizzle more oil, scatter flaky salt and rosemary.
- Bake at 220°C (430°F) for 25–30 minutes, until deeply golden.
Make it yours
Before baking, press in: cherry tomatoes, olives, thin red onion, or grapes with rosemary for a sweet-savory version. The dimples are little pockets — fill them.
Learn it hands-on at one of our workshops →