Sourdough Discard Focaccia (Open Crumb Focaccia)

Name: Sourdough Discard Focaccia
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 637 min
Ingredients: 400 g bread flour; 20 g vital wheat gluten; 300 g water; 12 g salt; 120 g sourdough discard; ¼ cup olives; ¼ red onion sliced thinly; 5 tbsp olive oil

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This sourdough discard focaccia is fluffy with gorgeous open crumbs. It has a crispy crust and base with a chewy flavorful crumb filled with tons of olives and caramelized onions. One of the easiest and most delicious vegan sourdough discard recipes that you will ever make.

fluffy and open crumbed sourdough discard focaccia

I worked on this easy recipe just as an experiment, and I have already made it 4 times so far. So, I thought why not share the recipe?

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Why should you try this recipe?
🍶 Ingredients required for the sourdough discard focaccia recipe
How to make sourdough discard focaccia?
🫙How to store sourdough discard focaccia?
Recipe Notes
❓Frequently Asked Questions
🍞 More sourdough recipes
More Sourdough discard recipes
📝 Recipe card for the sourdough discard focaccia
Sourdough Discard Focaccia
📋 Nutrition Facts

Why should you try this recipe?

A great way to use up the sourdough discard.
Easy homemade sourdough bread recipe that is simple yet delicious.
Approachable. The ingredients are simple, and you must already have them in your pantry.
A great recipe to test your sourdough starter with. It is a beginner-level sourdough recipe. No shaping and scoring skills are required. Just do some fingertip maneuvers and you should get there.
Customizable. You can add topping and additive flavors of your choice like garlic, olives, basil, thyme, sea salt, rosemary, basil, potato, cherry tomato, onion, roasted peppers, jalapenos, green onions, wild garlic, etc. to the focaccia to make it your own.
This recipe yields a perfectly crispy crust and base, which are the desirable features of focaccia.
Flavorful. Since this is an overnight sourdough discard focaccia, the dough develops a ton of flavor.
No yeast. 100% sourdough discard leavened bread.
Fluffy focaccia: This sourdough discard focaccia has an open crumb that is perfectly chewy and airy.
Vegan focaccia. This recipe does not use any butter; hence it is vegan sourdough focaccia.
Use this recipe to make gourmet focaccia with decorative toppings craft.

🍶 Ingredients required for the sourdough discard focaccia recipe

image showing all the ingredients required for making focaccia

Sourdough discard

Before we feed the sourdough starter, we throw away a part of it, to keep the total quantity of the starter manageable. The portion of sourdough starter that we throw away is called the sourdough discard.

If the refrigerated starter is still 7-10 days old, it can be successfully used to make all sorts of bread. We need to bring it to room temperature. Take it out of the fridge for at least an hour or half an hour before making the dough. Let it get bubbly on the countertop before using it.

Measuring the starter is the key here. Do not go blindly by the volume in the ingredient list. The density of the starter largely varies. So, make a point to weigh the starter.

Let me put these sourdough discard prerequisites for making this focaccia recipe briefly:

Sourdough discard should not be older than 10 days.
It should have been refrigerated for the most part.
1 ½ to 2 hours before making the dough, take the dough out of the fridge and let it become bubbly again. Note that it will not rise like a sourdough starter, but it will show some vital activity when brought to room temperature.

Bread Flour and vital wheat gluten

Bread flour has more elasticity owing to the high gluten percentage. Hence it can rise more than the all-purpose flour. The focaccia made with bread flour will be fluffier and have a more open crumb. You can also add some whole wheat flour also.

The best choice would be strong bread flour if you are looking to get open crumbs on your focaccia. High gluten flours have about 14 percent of gluten. I am using 12.7 percent King Arthur bread flour, and to compensate for the wheat protein I am adding some vital wheat gluten to the bread flour.

Vital wheat gluten is optional, even without it, you are going to get a great sourdough discard focaccia with this recipe.

You can make it with all purpose flour if you want, but you might not get the desired texture.

Water

Since the active yeast level in the sourdough discard is already very low, we do not want to risk killing them with fluoride or chlorine. We have to make sure that we use unchlorinated water. Be it chlorine or chloramine, they can hinder the fermentation process. Also, there could be fluoride in your tap water.

If you are not aware of these things, it is better to use bottled water. and when using bottled water, use the ones that have no fluoride (some bottled water has fluoride, so read the label).

Sourdough discard focaccia in a spring form pan

Toppings suggestions for sourdough discard focaccia

Toppings are a matter of personal choice. Somehow olive and red onions are one of my favorite focaccia toppings. The sweetness of onions couples perfectly with the sharp brined taste of olives. A few popular focaccias topping ideas to get you started are as follows.

Sundried tomato focaccia
Cherry tomato focaccia
Potato focaccia
Roasted pepper focaccia
Basil tomato focaccia
Garlic rosemary herb focaccia
Garlic asparagus focaccia
Cheddar cheese focaccia
Olive and thyme focaccia
And many more…

How to make sourdough discard focaccia?

Step 1 Prep the ingredients

Start by taking out the sourdough discard from the refrigerator. Do it at least 1 ½ to 2 hours ahead so that the sourdough discard has the time to come to room temperature and regain its vitality. Though the discard will not become viable and active like a fed sourdough starter, it will show signs of growth. It should become bubbly to some extent before you use it to make this sourdough discard focaccia.

In the meantime, prepare the toppings. Thinly slice the red onion, or whichever kind you want to use. Remove the olives from the brine and dry them. You can use whole olives or slice them into halves. Use whichever variety of olive you like. I have used kalamata olives.

Step 2 Make the dough

image showing making dough of the sourdough focaccia

Now that the discard has gained some activity, start making the dough. Place a large bowl on a weighing scale and start by measuring out the sourdough discard. Put 120 g of sourdough discard in the bowl. Then tare or zero the scale. Add 300 g of water. Grab a fork or whisk and combine all the discard in the water. Remove the bowl from the scale and place another bowl. Measure dry ingredients, viz a viz bread four, vital wheat gluten, and salt in the bowl. Use a whisk to combine everything.

It is important to combine salt and vital wheat gluten uniformly with the bread flour for the best results.

Now add the dry ingredients to the sourdough discard and water mixture. Initially use the back of a spatula to combine the dough. Then go in with your hands and make sure to hydrate each patch of flour.

When the dough is fully hydrated, clean the edges and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or a cling wrap. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

Step 3 Stretch and fold the dough while the first rise

This focaccia is a no-knead recipe. You do not necessarily have to work on the dough. But if you are looking to get the focaccia like this one with a wide-open crumb and a fantastic crunch, make some effort to strengthen the dough.

Stretching and folding are crucial to developing and strengthening the gluten structure.

After the dough has undergone Fermentolyse, grab the dough from the base and stretch it upward. Then, fold it under the opposite end. Go around the bowl and do 5-6 stretches and folds. Let the dough rest for 45 minutes and conduct another round of stretching and folding. The dough should kind of start to build strength by now. Let it rest for another 45 minutes and do a final round of stretching and folding.

For this focaccia recipe, you need to conduct 3 rounds of starching and folding in total, spaced about 45 minutes apart.

During this stage the dough will undergo first rise or bulk fermentation.

If you want to use a stand mixer, you do not need to do stretches and folds. Measure the flour and all the other ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer only. Then put the bowl in the stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment and knead the dough for 2 minutes at speed 1 and then bump up the speed to 4-5 and knead for 7-8 minutes until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and cling to the dough hook. Raise the speed to maximum towards the end.

Step 4 Pan shaping the focaccia

step showing the process of shaping focaccia

Now take whatever kind of pan you want to take. Round or square or rectangular. Just ensure that it has some depth, not baking sheet, as this dough will rise and get a nice spring. I have used an 11-inch round baking pan. Something around this size should work for you too.

A crucial step is to prevent the dough from sticking to the baking pan. If you just add olive oil, the dough is still going to stick to the pan. You need to grease the pan thoroughly with butter first. Another method I like is the use of parchment paper. Crush a parchment paper and then put it inside the pan and further grease it with olive oil generously using a pastry brush.

Now transfer the dough into the pan. Add 2 tablespoon of olive oil and use your fingertips to spread the dough evenly in the pan. The dough will resist and stretch back. So, cover and give it a rest of 30 minutes and return to spread it while making those characteristic focaccia puddles.

Step 5 Proofing/ cold fermentation

When you are satisfied with the shape and puddles on your dough, cover and let it proof at room temperature for one and a half hours.

Then transfer it to the fridge and let the sourdough discard focaccia cold ferment overnight or for 8-9 hours.

Step 6 Adding the toppings and Baking

When ready to bake, start by taking out the dough from the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature. When the dough becomes jiggly again, give it a drizzle of olive oil and push the toppings into the dough using the tips of your fingers.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 480^o F. Bake the sourdough and discard focaccia for 20 minutes or until it becomes deep golden brown at the top.

When ready remove the fluffy sourdough discard focaccia from the oven and brush the surface with olive oil and let it cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

🫙How to store sourdough discard focaccia?

To store the leftover focaccia, store it in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. It will become soft on storage like any other bread. But will regain its texture on reheating.

To freeze for a longer time, slice it into pieces and place them in an air-tight container that is freezer safe. It will store well for months.

Alternatively, you can also store the entire bread without slicing. For doing so, make sure to cool the bread completely. Then cover in a foil. Followed by another foil cover. Then place it in a ziplocked bag. Mark the contents and date. You can store it for months without spoilage.

🔥 Reheating instructions

To reheat this vegan focaccia, bake at 375^oF for 7-8 minutes to make it crispy and delicious again.

You can also use an air fryer to reheat the focaccia. An air fryer is ideal to heat bread. No time wasted in preheating and all. Just air fry focaccia at 400^o F for 5-6 minutes or until it gets back to its crispy goodness.

focaccia placed on a wooden chopping board

Recipe Notes

You will need a strong bread flour or will have to supplement with vital wheat gluten to get this kind of texture on your focaccia. But a normal bread flour will also make equally good focaccia.
Though the discard will not become viable and active like a fed sourdough starter, on taking it out of the fridge it will show signs of growth. It should become bubbly to some extent before you use it to make this sourdough discard focaccia.
You can use whichever variety of olive or onions you like.
It is important to combine salt and vital wheat gluten uniformly with the bread flour for the best results.
For this focaccia recipe, you need to conduct 3 rounds of starching and folding in total, spaced about 45 minutes apart.
For kneading in a stand mixer: If you want to use a stand mixer, measure the flour and all the other ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer only. Then put the bowl in the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment and knead the dough for 2 minutes at speed 1 and then bump up the speed to 4-5 and knead for 7-8 minutes until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and cling to the dough hook. Raise the speed to maximum towards the end.
Use parchment greased with olive oil to prevent focaccia from sticking to the pan. alternately rub the pan with butter.
Grease your fingertips before making puddles or dimples in the dough.
If the dough did not spread in the pan and pulls back. Give it some rest and try again after 30 minutes.
If you want to make quick focaccia without long cold ferment, let the dough ferment at room temperature for 4-5 hours, and bake the same-day sourdough discard focaccia.
Bake the sourdough discard focaccia to your liked crispiness. I brown my focaccia a bit longer.

image showing the large open and chewy crumb of focaccia

❓Frequently Asked Questions

How to prevent focaccia from sticking to the baking pan?

There are two ways to prevent the sourdough discard focaccia to prevent from sticking to the baking pan:

1.     First, rub butter all around the pan surface. Then drizzle and spread olive oil before putting in the dough.

2.     The second method is to use parchment paper. Crush the parchment paper and then open it. In doing so the parchment paper fits easily in all shapes of the pan, without folding over. After putting the parchment paper in the pan, grease it with some olive oil. Now when you will put the dough in it, there will be no issue of dough sticking.

When should you throw out sourdough discard?

Sourdough discard that has been sitting on the kitchen counter goes bad way faster than that stored in a fridge. Discard that is younger than a week and stored in the refrigerator can be used to make all sorts of sourdough bread and other discard recipes.
1-2 week old discard can be used in recipes like pita bread, naan bread, cinnamon rolls, focaccia, etc. But a discard that has been sitting in the fridge for more than 2 weeks cannot be used for making any sort of bread. But you can still use it in pancakes, waffles, and many other recipes. If the sourdough discard gets older than 4 weeks, consider throwing it away.

Can you use sourdough discard as levain?

Well, sourdough discard cannot be used as a levain. Levain is an active culture of live and vigorous wild yeast and lactobacilli. It is usually made using an active sourdough starter. But you can also make levain using sourdough discard to make levain, but not as a levain.

What happens if you bake sourdough discard?

Well, sourdough discard is 100 percent hydration. Hence it will not bake well. It can not hold any shape. It will stick to the baking surface, plus if you somehow manage to bake it, it will be super-duper sour.
It would be ideal to use it in numerous sourdough discard recipes like fried sourdough, sourdough discard pancakes, sourdough discard focaccia, sourdough discard naan, sourdough discard pita bread, sourdough discard cinnamon rolls, etc. You can use up to 30 percent sourdough discard to make bread.

Can you feed discarded sourdough starters?

Yes, you can feed the sourdough discard. On a couple of feedings, the sourdough becomes as good as your sourdough starter.

overhead shot of the focaccia made with olives and red onions

🍞 More sourdough recipes

A few Bread recipes with sourdough starter and other ways to use sourdough starter are linked below:

More Sourdough discard recipes

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Till then

Bake it Delicious!

📝 Recipe card for the sourdough discard focaccia

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Sourdough Discard Focaccia

Course Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine Italian

Keyword fluffy focaccia, focaccia sourdough discard, sourdough discard focaccia, sourdough focaccia

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 22

Resting time 10

Total Time 10 37

Servings 8

Calories 282kcal

Author Meenakshi

Ingredients

400 g bread flour
20 g vital wheat gluten
300 g water
12 g salt
120 g sourdough discard
¼ cup olives
¼ red onion sliced thinly
5 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions