Sourdough Baklava Focaccia

Sourdough Baklava Focaccia is everything you love about a sticky, nutty dessert layered onto the pillowy base of a sweet sourdough focaccia. With spiced nuts, honey syrup, and a chewy open sourdough crumb, this bake is a joyful twist on two classics - unexpected, impressive, and seriously delicious.

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Sourdough Focaccia For Dessert?

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made with layers of filo dough, chopped nuts, and syrup or honey, with origins in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Pairing the nuttiness of baklava with the chewy, open crumb of sourdough focaccia creates an unexpected harmony of textures - crunchy, syrup-soaked nuts meet a light, airy base with a gentle tang. 

It's a beautiful balance of flavour and form, and a perfect reason to explore more sweet sourdough focaccia creations like our Almond Croissant Sourdough Focaccia and Cherry Almond Sourdough Focaccia.

Ingredient Notes

• active sourdough starter: 100% hydration, active and bubbly. 
• strong white bread flour: with at least 12% protein content. Whilst focaccia can be made with all-purpose flour, your gluten networks may not be strong enough to hold large gas bubbles, creating a denser focaccia.
• salt. 
• honey: you may replace honey with sugar in the dough, but you will need both sugar and honey for the syrup. 
• olive oil. 
• zest of an orange: optional. 
• nuts: we used pistachios and walnuts, but you can experiment with different types of nuts. Have more pistachios? Try our Pistachio Sourdough With Chocolate Chips next!
• cinnamon: you may add a little ground cloves, nutmeg or cardamom, if you wish. Love cinnamon? Try our Cinnamon Sourdough Focaccia.
• vanilla bean paste: optional. 

Find ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

Equipment Needed

• Stand Mixer Fitted with A Dough Hook Attachment
• Large Rimmed Baking Sheet (9x9in/ 23x23cm)
• Plastic Wrap (Cling Film) or a Damp Kitchen Towel.
• Parchment Paper
• Small Saucepan for the honey syrup. 
• Food processor or a sharp knife, for chopping the nuts. 

Tips For The Best Sourdough Focaccia

💧 1. Embrace Sticky Dough. High hydration is key to soft, airy focaccia with chewy edges. If using very high-protein flour (13%+), you may need to slightly increase the water. It'll feel sticky at first - don't worry, the coil folds and bulk fermentation will transform it.

🔁 2. Don't Skip Coil Folds. Coil folds help distribute wild yeast, develop gluten, and build structure without overmixing. For that light, bubbly crumb, they're essential.

🫒 3. Add Oil by Hand. Gently squish the olive oil into the dough by hand before mixing. This helps the oil integrate without causing the dough to split or become greasy.

👀 4. Watch the Dough, Not the Clock. The small amount of sugar in this dough speeds up fermentation. Check for puffiness, bubbles, and jiggle rather than relying on strict timing.

👆 5. Dimple with Care. Use well-oiled fingers to dimple the dough before baking - this creates space for the nut topping to sink in. Press the nuts deep into the dough so they don't burn or fall off after baking.

🌰 6. Chop Nuts Finely. For the best texture, chop pistachios and walnuts finely. This helps them nestle into the dough and toast evenly without becoming too hard.

⏳ 7. Let It Cool A Little Before Slicing. Don't slice or serve hot - the syrup and topping will be overly sweet and messy. Letting the focaccia cool helps the syrup set and the flavours meld beautifully.

🔥 8. Bake in the Centre of the Oven. Position your tray in the middle rack for an even bake and to prevent the golden brown nut topping from burning.

🥖 9. Use the Right Tray. A high-rimmed tin (approx. 23×23 cm) contains the dough and helps it rise evenly. Plus, you are able to cover it without the cover touching the surface of the dough. 

Storage

Store your Sourdough Baklava Focaccia at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days to keep it soft and fresh. Once the syrup has been drizzled on, this sweet sourdough focaccia should not be frozen.

More Sourdough Focaccia Recipes

Looking for more ways to level up your sourdough skills? Explore our sourdough focaccia recipes (from Cinnamon Apple Sourdough Focaccia and Cherry Tomato Sourdough Focaccia to Cherry and Almond Sourdough Focaccia) - from sweet to savoury twists, there's something here to inspire every bake.

Sourdough Baklava Focaccia

Sourdough Baklava Focaccia is everything you love about a sticky, nutty dessert layered onto the pillowy base of a sweet sourdough focaccia. With spiced nuts, honey syrup, and a chewy open sourdough crumb, this bake is a joyful twist on two classics - unexpected, impressive, and seriously delicious.

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

18 hours hrs

Total Time 21 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

Course Bread, Brunch, Dessert, Sweet Bread

Cuisine Assyrian, Fusion, Greek, Italian, Sourdough, Turkish

Servings 9 portions

Calories 286 kcal

Equipment

• Stand Mixer Fitted with A Dough Hook Attachment
• Baking Tray (9x9in/ 23x23cm)
• Parchment Paper
• Food Processor, optional for chopping nuts

Ingredients

  

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Sourdough Focaccia Dough

• 110 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
• 260 g strong white bread flour with at least 12% protein content
• 180 g water
• 5 g salt
• 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
• 25 ml olive oil

Baklava Topping

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• zest of an orange optional
• 60 g pistachios
• 60 g walnuts
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Honey Syrup

• 40 ml water
• 50 g granulated sugar or caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste optional
• 40 g honey

Instructions

 

DAY 1:

• First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter and leave it in a warm spot to at least double in volume. We typically feed our starter in a ratio of 1 part starter: 1 part water: 1 part flour, and it doubles (or even triples) within 4 hours.

Fermentolyse and Mixing The Dough

• In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, water, and active sourdough starter. Mix the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment for a few minutes on low speed, until the flour is hydrated. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave the dough to fermentolyse (a type of sourdough autolyse where sourdough starter is added too) for an hour.
• After an hour, scatter the salt and sugar (or honey) on top of the dough. Drizzle the olive oil all over, and using your hands, squish the salt and oil into the dough, aiming to distribute it evenly.
• TIP: Don't be tempted to just mix the oil in by running the stand mixer - the dough will split, separated by oil layers.
• Once incorporated, run your mixer on medium speed for 10-12 minutes, until you have a very smooth and elastic dough. It will be wet, but should start gathering around the dough hook attachment.

Coil Folds, Bulk Fermentation, Cold Retardation

• Scoop the dough into a lightly oiled bowl (we like to use a heavy shallow dish - it helps with coil folds later). Cover the dough with a damp tea towel or cling film (plastic wrap) and leave it in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
• Over the next 3 hours, at 30-minute intervals, perform a set of coil folds, using wet hands. See the coil folding video below.
• After all 6 sets of coil folds are completed, cover the dough and let it finish its bulk fermentation undisturbed for 1.5-3 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
• Place the dough in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours (or simply overnight).
• OPTIONAL: If you want to introduce orange flavour to your baklava focaccia, at this point, infuse the oil with orange zest. Add the zest of an orange to a small saucepan with the olive oil. Gently warm the oil until it is just warmer than body temperature. Take it off the heat, cover, and leave it to infuse further at room temperature overnight.

DAY 2:

• The next day, grease and line a baking tray (approx 24x24cm) with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with a little extra olive oil.

Second Rise

• Take the dough out of the fridge and very carefully transfer it into the prepared baking tray, trying not to deflate it too much. Stretch it out into the corners of the baking dish.
• Cover it again and leave it in a warm spot to proof for another 1-2 hours. It will increase in volume, puff up and have very noticeable blisters across the surface.

Topping and Baking

• Chop the pistachios and walnuts (or pulse them in a food processor). Mix the nuts with cinnamon.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
• Drizzle the infused olive oil (or just olive oil if you haven't infused it) all over the surface of the sourdough.
• Scatter the nut mixture all over.
• Oil your fingers and dimple the top of the dough all over, aiming to squish the nuts deep inside the dough.
• Bake the sourdough baklava focaccia for 20-22 minutes.
• While it is in the oven, prepare the honey syrup. Place water and sugar to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stirring, bring it to the boil. Add the honey and vanilla bean paste (optional) and simmer on low-medium heat, stirring once in a while, for 10-15 minutes. It should thicken to a syrupy consistency.
• Once the focaccia is cooked, drizzle the top with the honey syrup.
• Cool the focaccia for at least 20 minutes before taking it out of the baking tin and slicing into portions.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 286kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 218mgPotassium: 130mgFiber: 2gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 30IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Baklava Focaccia, Nutty Sourdough Focaccia, Sourdough Baklava Focaccia, Sweet Sourdough Focaccia

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