Simple Sourdough Discard Focaccia Bread Recipe

This simple sourdough discard focaccia is a great recipe for using up your excess discard in a delicious and practical way. Made with simple ingredients, this high hydration dough creates a soft, airy crumb and a perfectly crisp crust. It's ideal for sandwiches, dipping, or enjoying fresh from the oven. The dough comes together easily and rises beautifully in just the right amount of time, making it perfect for both beginners and seasoned bakers. If you're looking for a flavorful, no-fuss way to reduce waste and enjoy artisan-style bread at home, this recipe delivers every time.

Running a farm, homeschooling, and keeping up with this blog can feel like a three-ring circus some days, and dinner is usually the first thing to slip through the cracks. There are plenty of evenings where time simply gets away from me. That’s why I love having a reliable bread recipe like this one tucked in my back pocket. It comes together quickly and doesn’t require starting a dough first thing in the morning. I also enjoy switching up the herbs depending on what’s growing in the garden that time of year. If you ever find yourself in a pinch, I hope this bread can be your go-to. It's simple to make, beautifully impressive, and the kind of thing that looks like you spent all day in the kitchen (without actually doing so!).

Ingredients for Sourdough Focaccia Bread

•  1 ¾ cups (400g) warm water
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (instant yeast will work--SEE TIPS)
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ cup (100g) sourdough discard (unfed)
•  4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons salt (10g) (I like Himalayan salt)
• 6 tablespoons (80g) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
• Flaky Sea Salt (to taste)

Easy Sourdough Focaccia Recipe

Step 1: In the large bowl, combine the warm water, active dry yeast, and the sugar. Over the next few minutes allow the yeast to become active.

Step 2: In a large bowl add the sourdough starter, flour, salt, and active yeast. Mix until a sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a homemade bowl cover and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.

Step 3: After the initial rest, use wet hands to perform 3 sets of stretch and folds, spaced 15 minutes apart. To do this, gently grab one side of the dough, lift it up to stretch slightly, and fold it over toward the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process from each side until you've done it four times total—this counts as one set. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then repeat the stretch and fold process two more times. This simple technique helps build gluten strength and structure without kneading, resulting in a soft, airy focaccia with a beautiful rise.

STEP 4: After the final stretch and fold, cover the bowl and let the dough perform its first rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, or until doubled. 

Step 5: Once the dough has doubled in size, pour 3 tablespoons (40 g) of olive oil in a 9x13-inch rectangular pan (or a cake pan) lined with parchment paper. Make sure the oil is evenly dispersed. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and gently stretch it to fit. Cover with plastic wrap (or a damp kitchen towel or homemade bowl cover) and allow it to do a second rise at room temperature for 45–60 minutes, or until it has doubled in size once again.

STEP 6: Preheat oven to 425°F. With oiled fingers, dimple the top of the dough all over. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with the fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt, or your favorite toppings.

STEP 7: Place the baking pan in a preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on top.

STEP 8: Let cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Tips

• Instant yeast can be used instead of active dry yeast. It does not need to be proofed like active dry yeast, so simply mix it in with all the ingredients when following the recipe.
• This easy recipe is delicious with different toppings! Some of our favorite to add are: fresh thyme, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and black olives. We also enjoy it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar!
• This recipe will work with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat flour! When using fresh milled whole wheat flour, I prefer a hard white wheat variety as it doesn't have that strong of a flavor, so we can taste the toppings that we add to it better.

More Delicious Sourdough Discard Recipes

Easy Pepperoni Cheese Pizza Sourdough Discard Recipe

Easy Italian Sourdough Flatbread Discard Recipe

Best Whole Wheat Sourdough Discard Tortillas Recipe

Step-by-Step Homemade Sourdough Pizza Crust Recipe

Simple Sourdough Discard Focaccia Bread Recipe

This simple sourdough discard focaccia is a great recipe for using up your excess discard in a delicious and practical way. Made with simple ingredients, this high hydration dough creates a soft, airy crumb and a perfectly crisp crust.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: active, Active Sourdough Starter, bowl, bread, discard, dough, focaccia, pan, recipe, rise

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours

Servings: 0

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups 400g warm water
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast instant yeast will work--SEE TIPS
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ½ cup 100g sourdough discard (unfed)
• 4 cups 500g all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons 10g salt (I like Himalayan salt)
• 6 tablespoons 80 grams olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
• Flaky Sea Salt to taste

Instructions

• In the large bowl, combine the warm water, active dry yeast, and the sugar. Over the next few minutes allow the yeast to become active.
• In a large bowl add the sourdough starter, flour, salt, and active yeast. Mix until a sticky dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a homemade bowl cover and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
• After the initial rest, use wet hands to perform 3 sets of stretch and folds, spaced 15 minutes apart. To do this, gently grab one side of the dough, lift it up to stretch slightly, and fold it over toward the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process from each side until you've done it four times total—this counts as one set. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then repeat the stretch and fold process two more times. This simple technique helps build gluten strength and structure without kneading, resulting in a soft, airy focaccia with a beautiful rise.
• After the final stretch and fold, cover the bowl and let the dough perform its first rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes to 45 minutes, or until doubled.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, pour 3 tablespoons (40 g) of olive oil in a 9x13-inch rectangular pan (or a cake pan) lined with parchment paper. Make sure the oil is evenly dispersed. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and gently stretch it to fit. Cover with plastic wrap (or a damp kitchen towel or homemade bowl cover) and allow it to do a second rise at room temperature for 45–60 minutes, or until it has doubled in size once again.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. With oiled fingers, dimple the top of the dough all over. Drizzle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with the fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt, or your favorite toppings.
• Place the baking pan in a preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on top. Let cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes

• • Instant yeast can be used instead of active dry yeast. It does not need to be proofed like active dry yeast, so simply mix it in with all the ingredients when following the recipe.

• • This easy recipe is delicious with different toppings! Some of our favorite to add are: fresh thyme, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and black olives. We also enjoy it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar!

• • This recipe will work with bread flour and fresh milled whole wheat flour! When using fresh milled whole wheat flour, I prefer a hard white wheat variety as it doesn't have that strong of a flavor, so we can taste the toppings  that we add to it better.