Overnight Sourdough Focaccia Bread with Olives

Chewy and soft on the inside, with an extremely airy crumb and crispy exterior, this Sourdough Focaccia is one of the nicest breads we make! Made with naturally leavened dough and topped with soft plump olives and a mixture of herbs, this bread is lovely on its own, dipped in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar or served with soups! In this article, we will talk you through everything you need to know to make a great Overnight Sourdough Focaccia with Olives, even if you're a beginner!

Jump to:

• Why Make Sourdough Focaccia?
• Reader Review
• Ingredients
• Equipment
• Before You Start
• Step-By-Step Method
• How To Eat Sourdough Focaccia?
• Storage
• Recipe FAQs
• Other Sourdough Recipes To Try
• Overnight Sourdough Focaccia with Olives

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost for you! Thank you!

Or if you have plenty of discard to use up, try our Sourdough Discard Focaccia instead - minimal effort and less waiting!

And we have the most delicious Almond Croissant Sourdough Focaccia and Cherry Almond Sourdough Focaccia for the sweet tooth! Not forgetting our best fusion recipe yet - Sourdough Baklava Focaccia.

Why Make Sourdough Focaccia?

Success Every Time: When I first started baking with sourdough starter, I had very mixed success with the loaves that I made at the beginning. Unlike any other sourdough bread I made, Sourdough Focaccia has never failed me. This simple bread turns out perfect every time, no matter what toppings I use. 

Health Benefits: Sourdough focaccia is a healthier alternative to traditional bread (that's made with commercial yeast) since it's made with a sourdough starter, which contains beneficial bacteria, that aid digestion and can help boost the immune system.

Additionally, the fermentation process in the long rise of sourdough bread also helps break down gluten, making it easier to digest for those with gluten sensitivities.

Flavour and Texture: Sourdough focaccia has a unique tangy flavour and a chewy texture that's hard to replicate with any other type of bread. The long fermentation process also helps develop the flavour and texture, resulting in bread that's more complex and satisfying than regular bread.

Versatility: Sourdough focaccia is incredibly versatile. This flat bread is perfect as a side dish, but also makes for great sandwich bread or even as a base for pizza (*and you can totally use focaccia dough as pizza dough too). Plus, you can customize the toppings to your liking, making it a great canvas for your favourite ingredients.

Ingredients

Today we are sharing our favourite simple sourdough focaccia recipe with olives and herbs. It has all the elements of Adriatic cuisine and takes you back to the holidays in Greece. Simple ingredients but maximum flavour!

• active sourdough starter: bubbly and active, 100% hydration starter. 
• strong white bread flour: make sure that the gluten content in your white flour is no less than 13%. All-purpose flour will not produce the best results. 
• water: luke warm water will speed up the process of bulk fermenting, but you can use cold water and proof your dough for a bit longer. 
• salt.
• olive oil: you may use extra virgin or not, it's completely up to you. We prefer extra virgin olive oil, as it adds heaps of flavour to the sourdough focaccia. 

• good quality olive oil.
• garlic clove.
• tomato paste: also known as tomato puree. 
• mixed dried herbs: can be replaced with dried thyme, oregano or parsley. You can also use finely chopped fresh rosemary.  
• olives: we use black olives for this great recipe, but feel free to experiment. 
• coarse sea salt, for sprinkling.

Find the quantities and full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

Flavour Variations

1. Caramelized Onion & Feta: Caramelized onions add a sweet and savoury flavour that pairs perfectly with tangy feta cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary for a delicious and aromatic topping. Add a few cherry tomatoes too!
2. Roasted Garlic & Parmesan: Roasted garlic is mellow and sweet, making it the perfect complement to the sharp, nutty flavour of parmesan cheese. You could also add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for a little heat.
3. Mushroom & Truffle Oil: Sautéed mushrooms and truffle oil create a rich and earthy topping that's perfect for a more indulgent twist on sourdough focaccia. Finish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley or chives for freshness.
4. Try our Overnight Sourdough Focaccia With Potatoes and Rosemary or Fennel and Caper Sourdough Focaccia next time!

These are just a few ideas to get you started but feel free to experiment with your favourite ingredients and flavours to create your own favorite toppings for the best sourdough focaccia. Enjoy!

Equipment

I cook my focaccia in a cast iron skillet (or the lid of my Dutch Oven) They are irreplaceable pieces of cookware in our kitchen. Not only great for baking Sourdough Bread, Focaccia or Pizza, but we also make Banana Tart Tatin, various Frittatas and our Christmas Pommes Anna in them too. But any dark baking dish should do!

Since Sourdough Focaccia features a very wet dough, I highly recommend mixing it in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and a large mixing bowl (we use Kenwood mixer).

To make the best focaccia, we also highly recommend that you measure the ingredients by weight, so a digital scale will come in handy. 

Before You Start

This is an overnight recipe, so you will want to start a day (or even two) before you want to eat your Sourdough Focaccia.

As usual, I use a 100% hydration starter in this recipe. That's the one that's been fed equal amounts (in weight) of water and flour. A mature active starter is key to a great open texture of good focaccia, so I wouldn't recommend making one of these until you've had and maintained your starter for a good couple of months. 

Download your guide on sourdough starter below to learn more. 

This recipe is for 4 people to eat as a snack, or with soup. But the recipe can easily be doubled, as long as you use a large baking tray (sheet pan) to bake it in. 

Step-By-Step Method

Step 1: Feed Your Starter

It is important to use your starter at its peak. And by the peak, I mean that it's been fed and it at least doubled in size but hasn't started deflating yet. How long it takes for it to double depends on various factors, like the flour you use, and the temperature and humidity of your kitchen.

Our kitchen gets cold at night in winter, so I can feed my starter in the ratio of 1 part starter : 2 parts flour : 2 parts water. I leave it overnight at 15°C.

However, if your kitchen is warm, you may need to adjust the amount of water and flour you feed.

Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you can feed your starter in the morning if you know you can get it to double within 4 hours or so. In short, you will need 110g of active starter. 

Step 2: Day 1: Prepare Sourdough Focaccia Dough

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, mix active starter, water and 190g of the flour into a shaggy dough. Cover and leave this to rest for 1 hour. This process is called autolyse (or fermentolyse to be precise), during which enzymes in the flour are activated and gluten starts to develop. 

After an hour, add salt, olive oil and the rest of the flour (75g) and knead in your mixer on low/medium speed for around 5-7 minutes, until the dough is clearly less sticky, more elastic and comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Tip the dough into a well-greased shallow dish and cover it with a tea towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 4-5 hours (or longer in cooler temperatures). This is called bulk fermentation (or first rise). Every half an hour, uncover the dough, oil your hands (or use cold wet hands) and perform a set of coil folds (video below) or traditional stretch-and-folds. 

You will see how much more elastic, firm and easier to manage your dough gets with each of them. After your second fold, you will also start to see small blisters forming on the top of the dough. This is a great sign of an elastic and airy dough. 

Pop the dough in the fridge fully covered or cling filmed and let the dough rest for an overnight proof 

Step 3: Day 2: Bake Overnight Focaccia

Take the dough out of the fridge. Lightly oil a 20-24cm cast iron skillet. Now the tricky bit! Using a dough scraper, carefully transfer your Focaccia dough out of the dish into the skillet without deflating it too much.

Cover and leave in a warm spot for approx. 1 hour. Your dough should rise and have large visible blisters on the surface at this stage. 

Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Then prepare your topping. In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of tomato paste, 1 teaspoon of mixed herbs and 1 small crushed garlic clove. Prepare your olives by cutting them in half. 

Now oil your fingers, and dimple the dough all over. Place olive halves in the dimples. Then brush the olive oil mixture all over the surface of the Sourdough Focaccia, taking care not to burst any blisters.

Sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top. Then place on the middle shelf of the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of your focaccia. We used a 24cm cast iron pan, and it took 17 minutes to cook. 

The top of your focaccia should be golden brown. Cool it for at least 15 minutes on a wire rack before slicing. It's lovely warm, when it still has a crispy crust and chewy crumb, but it is also delicious the next day!

How To Eat Sourdough Focaccia?

Serve your Sourdough Focaccia with stews and soups, like Roasted Butternut Squash & Pepper Soup or Pea and Broccoli Soup. It goes very well with a variety of starters, like Gambas Pil Pil, Prawn Saganaki or Beetroot Dip! And we simply adore it simply dipped in olive oil and balsamic (or Baked Camembert)!

Storage

Sourdough focaccia bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 2-3 days, but it's important to keep it in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

If you want to extend the shelf life of your sourdough focaccia, you can also freeze it. To freeze, wrap the focaccia tightly in plastic wrap and then place it in an airtight container or freezer bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.

Recipe FAQs

Other Sourdough Recipes To Try

We hope you enjoyed this relatively easy sourdough focaccia recipe. Love olives? Try our Green Olive Sourdough With Roasted Garlic. If you're looking for other recipes using active sourdough starter to try, have a look at our other favourites:

• Sourdough Brioche Scented with Vanilla and Lemon
• Simple Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia With Sea Salt
• Sourdough Cherry Tomato Focaccia With Rosemary
• Sourdough Ciabatta
• Sourdough Croissants
• Sourdough Stollen