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–+ servings
Appetizer | Bread | Side Dish

Sourdough Focaccia In A Cast Iron Skillet

Here's how to make crispy, golden brown sourdough focaccia at home in a cast iron skillet! This recipe is perfect for all sourdough bread bakers, and includes all of the tips you need to get that irresistible crispy on the outside, soft on the inside sourdough crumb.
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Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time14 hours 10 minutes
Yield12 servings

Equipment

INGREDIENTS

Sourdough Focaccia
  • 75 g sourdough starter, 100% hydration (about 1/3 c)
  • 400 g water (about 2 cups)
  • 5 g honey (about 1 tsp)
  • 500 g bread flour* (about 4 cups)
  • 10 g salt (about 1 1/2 tsp)
  • 8 g olive oil (about 1 1/2 tsp, plus more for drizzling)
  • Finishing salt (for topping)
  • 3 tbsp butter, melted (for topping)

INSTRUCTIONS

Cast Iron Skillet Sourdough Focaccia: Day One
  • Pour the sourdough starter into a large bowl. Add the water and honey, and whisk until the starter is fully dissolved in the water.
  • Add the flour, salt, and olive oil to the bowl, and use a spoon to lightly mix everything together until a shaggy dough forms. The dough will be sticky and not very pretty. That's ok. Just make sure everything is well-mixed so there are no dry spots.
  • Rest the dough for 30 minutes at room temperature so the flour can fully hydrate, making the next step much easier.
  • Stretch-and-Fold #1
    After 30 minutes, perform the first series of stretch-and-folds to build the structure of the dough. This is essential to strengthen the gluten and achieve a good rise.
    Simply grab a corner of the dough, stretch it up and away from the bowl, and fold it across to the other side. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat the stretch-and-fold about 6 more times, turning the bowl each time. The dough will become stronger and less stretchy the more you fold it.
  • Loosely cover the bowl with a towel and rest the dough at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Stretch-and-Fold #2
    After 30 minutes, perform the second series of stretch-and-folds, repeating the steps above.
    Again, simply grab a corner of the dough, stretch it up and away from the bowl, and fold it across to the other side, turning the bowl each time, a total of 6 times.
  • Bulk Fermentation
    Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towle and rest the dough at room temperature for about 8 hours, or until just about doubled in size.
    Your dough may need more or less resting time depending on the strength of your starter and temperature of your kitchen, but expect about 8 hours max.
  • After the dough has just about doubled in size, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and rest it in the fridge overnight, at least 8 hours.
    I rested my dough for 14 hours. You could probably push it to 16-24 hours, according to your schedule.
Cast Iron Skillet Sourdough Focaccia: Day Two
  • The next day, drizzle a 12" cast iron skillet with olive oil, and spread the oil to evenly coat the bottom and sides of the pan.
  • Remove the dough from the fridge, and loosen it from the sides of bowl (it may be sticky). Transfer the dough, upside down, into the skillet.
  • Pat the dough into a rough rectangle shape inside of the pan, gently stretching the top and bottom if needed. Now, we're going to shape the dough.
  • Using both hands, gently pick up the bottom of the dough, pull it away from the pan, and fold it halfway on top of the dough. Next, pull the right side of the dough away from the pan, and fold it halfway on top of the dough again, overlapping the bottom portion.
    Repeat with the left side of the dough, and then finally the top, so you have a nice little square of dough.
    I recommend watching the video to get a clear idea of how to do this step.
  • Place your thumbs just underneath the bottom of the dough, and gently roll the dough over on top of itself, liking rolling a towel, so that it's flipped over.
    The surface of the dough should now be nice and smooth, with maybe a few air bubbles. Gently turn the dough, if needed, so it's resting neatly in the center of the pan.
  • Loosely cover the pan with a towel, and rest the dough at room temperature for about 4 hours. The dough will naturally spread to fit the pan.
  • At the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 500 F.
  • Drizzle olive oil in top of the dough, and lightly oil your fingers. Dimple the dough all over with your fingers, poking through to the bottom of the pan, until the surface is covered in holes and there's lots of air bubbles.
  • Sprinkle the top of the dough with finishing salt.
  • Bake the sourdough focaccia for 20-25 minutes, until the top is deeply golden brown. It's desirable to have some charred bits on top!
  • Remove the bread from the oven.
  • Brush the hot sourdough focaccia with the melted butter, and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

*You can also use all purpose flour for this recipe if you don't have bread flour. The sourdough focaccia will still turn out great! Bread flour has a higher protein content, so the bread will have great texture and more "chew", which is why it's preferred.
**The best way to visualize the stretch-and-folds is to watch the video above–check it out!