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Crispy edges. Soft middle. Sweet and tart lemon flavor. This sweet lemon sourdough focaccia is a sweet focaccia filled with fresh lemon zest, white chocolate, and drizzled with a sweet lemon glaze. This recipe will have you re-thinking traditional sourdough focaccia and wondering what other sweet recipes you can try!
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Why You’ll Love Lemon Sourdough Focaccia
- Texture: You’ll love sinking your teeth into a slice of this sourdough focaccia – crispy edges and super soft middle – or try my Honey Butter Sourdough Focaccia similar texture but based on my viral sourdough croissant loaf.
- Unique: If you thought the flavor of my original sourdough focaccia recipe is good, then you’ll love leveling up your sourdough game with this unique recipe – or try my Sourdough Lemon Rolls for more great lemon flavor.
- Easy: For such a showstopper, this recipe is so remarkably easy. Mix it up with just a few ingredients and follow a simple set of steps.
- Lemon Perfection: This is the perfect bake for lemon lovers! Similar to my Blueberry Lemon Sourdough Bread, the tart lemon is combined with white chocolate this time for a sweet balance of lemony goodness. And if you really love white chocolate, these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Sourdough Cookies should also be on your list to try!
Sourdough Baker’s Timeline
A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. I’ve been baking sourdough for over a decade and this schedule helps me plan my bake. Please Note: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 78-80ºF throughout the process.
| Day 1 | Mix Levain |
| 8:00 PM- 8:00 AM | Mix Levain. Let sit at 78º F for about 10-12 hours until doubled/bubbly and ripe. |
| Day 2 | Mixing/Bulk Fermentation/Shaping/Baking |
| 9:00 AM | Mix together dough Begin Bulk Fermentation |
| 9:30 AM | Coil Fold #1 |
| 10:00 AM | Coil Fold #2 Add Lemon Zest & White Chocolate |
| 10:30 AM | Coil Fold #3 |
| 11:00 AM | Coil Fold #4 |
| 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM | Finish Bulk Fermentation |
| 1:00 PM | Place dough in pan and cover Optional Overnight Refrigeration |
| 1:00 PM -5:00 PM | Let dough rise in a warm 78-80º F place until the dough is doubled, airy, light and jiggly. Do not bake unless the dough is puffed up and aerated. |
| 5:00 PM | Bake |
Important Ingredients in Lemon Sourdough Focaccia
- Sourdough Starter: Use an active/ripe sourdough starter (doubled in size/bubbly/mild sour aroma) to mix the levain.
- Lemons: Both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest are used in this recipe for lots of lemon flavor
- Granulated Sugar: A little sugar in the focaccia dough keeps this focaccia light and sweet.
- Bread Flour: Use a bread flour with 12.5% protein content. The amount of water in this recipe necessitates a flour high in protein content. If you don’t have bread flour and substitute all purpose, you will need to reduce some of the water in the recipe.
- Salt: Salt helps temper fermentation and enhances the flavor of the focaccia.
- White Chocolate: Good quality white chocolate that has 20% cocoa butter. White chocolate chips can also work in a pinch.
- Olive Oil & Butter: A combination of the two are used to get the delicious crispy crust on this focaccia.
- Lemon Glaze: A sweet lemon glaze tops this focaccia – made from powdered sugar and lemon juice.
How to Make Lemon Sourdough Focaccia
Mix Levain
1:10:10 levain (ready in 10-12 hours/overnight): This recipe calls for levain mixed the night before you want to mix your dough. Prepare the levain and keep it overnight at 78-80ºF. It will be ready in approximately 10-12 hours (overnight). Mix together:
- 5 grams of ripe/mature sourdough starter
- 55 grams water
- 55 grams all purpose or bread flour
Note: To make it a true 1:10:10 ratio, it would be 5.5 grams of ripe/mature starter and 55 grams bread flour, 55 grams water. Chances are you are going to be somewhere in the ballpark of 5-6 grams of starter, and it will work out just fine. Sourdough doesn’t have to be exact – it’s a method of learning to read your dough and its readiness.
If you prefer to mix the levain the morning you mix the dough, you can mix a 1:1:1 Levain (ready in 3-4 hours/same day): It should take 3-4 hours to rise and peak if kept at 78-80ºF. Levain is ready when it has at least doubled in size, has lots of bubbles, a slightly sour aroma and is just about to start going down from its peak height. Mix together:
- 35 grams ripe/mature starter
- 35 grams warm water
- 35 grams all purpose or bread flour
Mixing the Dough: Begin Bulk Fermentation
Once the levain is ripe, bubbly and at least doubled in size, it’s time to mix the dough. Add the ripe levain, water, freshly squeezed lemon juice, sugar, salt and bread flour to a bowl. Mix together with a dough whisk or your fingers until a sticky dough forms. Remember, this is a higher hydration recipe (over 80%), so it’s going to be fairly sticky. It is also a dough that rises in a pan and doesn’t need a whole lot of extra strengthening. A quick mix is really all it needs as we let the gluten strands form through the long fermentation process. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation: Coil Folds and Adding Inclusions
Coil Folds: Over the course of the next 2 hours, perform sets of “coil folds”. Coil folds are a way of aligning gluten stands in high hydration dough instead of kneading it. To perform a coil fold, wet your hands with water. Place your hands under the middle of the dough and pull up. The dough will stretch up (but should not tear) and release from the bottom of the bowl. Once the dough releases, let the dough fall back under itself. Repeat the process for both sides of dough. Then turn the container and repeat the coil fold. Watch a video of the coil fold process here. Perform 4-6 coil folds. The dough will be very sticky for the first set of coil folds, but will strengthen over time. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. You will repeat this process a total of 4 times over a 2 hour period.
Adding Inclusions: After your first set of coil folds, prepare the mix-ins. Zest one or two large lemons until you have about 10 grams. Chop up a bar of good quality white chocolate into small pieces. During your second set of coil folds, you will add the lemon zest and white chocolate chunks by smearing the zest on top of the dough and adding the white chocolate chunks to to the top of the zest. Perform the coil folds, mixing the inclusions into the dough. Your inclusions will become more fully incorporated with the third and fourth set of coil folds.
Bulk Fermentation: Rise and Shape
After your fourth set of coil folds, cover and rest the dough at 78ºF for 1.5-2 hours until the dough has risen, is starting to dome and has a few scattered bubbles around the edges. Note, the dough will not double in size at this point, but it will rise 30-40%.
Prepare a 9 by 13 metal baking pan with 30 grams melted butter and 30 grams good quality light olive oil. Tip the pan around to coat the entire bottom of the pan. If your pan has issues with dough sticking, put some parchment paper down before the butter/oil.
Turn the dough out into the pan and stretch slowly to fill the edges of the pan. Pull up gently on the underside of the dough to stretch it into place. If it doesn’t want to stretch, let the dough rest for a minute and then try again.
Overnight Option: After the dough has risen about 4 hours at 78ºF, you have the option to cover the dough and place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 48 hours if that works better with your schedule. Proceed with the recipe as outlined and let the dough warm back up and rise before baking. If you have trouble with the dough sticking to the plastic wrap, add a little bit of oil to the top of the dough before covering it. The cold fermentation brings flavor, color and helps you plan your bake. I’ve also found it makes the texture even more soft and fluffy.
Proof the Dough
Place the dough in a warm spot (78-mid 80ºF) and let the dough rise until puffed up, aerated and jiggly. After about 3-5 hours, the dough should have doubled in size. The key to a light, airy and bubbly focaccia is letting the dough rise long enough to have large air bubbles in it. This will take more or less time depending on the temperature of your dough as it’s rising. If the dough doesn’t look like this, warm it up a little more and let it rise longer.
Dimple, Bake and Drizzle Glaze
After the dough is puffed up, jiggly and aerated with air bubbles, pour 30 grams of good quality light olive oil on top of the dough. Take your fingers and gently dimple the dough. Start at the top and work your way down the dough until the entire focaccia is dimpled and bubbly.
Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF. Once the oven is pre-heated, bake the lemon focaccia for 25-30 minutes until bubbly, crispy and light golden brown on top and the baked focaccia registers 200ºF. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
Prepare the lemon drizzle by whisking together powdered sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice to form a thin glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the warm focaccia and enjoy!
Amy’s Recipe Tip
I don’t always recommend cutting into warm bread, but this one is a MUST. Take off a corner slice while this sweet lemon focaccia is still warm – it will give you lemon donut vibes, but so much better! Crispy crust, soft middle and sweet/tart lemon flavor bursting in your mouth. When your focaccia cools, make sure to warm it back up before enjoying. It’s so good warm!
Substitutions
- Bread Flour: Bread flour should not be substituted for all-purpose flour in this recipe. This is a high-hydration dough meaning it has lots of water in it and all-purpose flour doesn’t have the strength to absorb all the liquid. If you don’t have bread flour, you can add 15 grams vital wheat gluten to all-purpose flour to increase the protein content of the flour making it similar to bread flour.
- White Chocolate: I prefer chopping a good quality white chocolate bar that has cocoa butter in it. You can also substitute white baking chips if you prefer that flavor.
- Levain: Ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter can be substituted for the levain in this recipe if desired.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover sourdough lemon focaccia bread can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, bag it in an airtight container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to a couple months. Warm up in the microwave or oven for a few minutes before serving to get that white chocolate melty again.
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Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using fresh lemon instead of lemon juice. Lemon juice has preservatives that keep it shelf stable and can give off a bitter taste. Fresh lemon gives you the zest and the juice – both of which are used in this recipe
You don’t have to. I like the creaminess and added sweetness the white chocolate gives, but you can make this recipe without the white chocolate.
Make sure you’re use a good quality non-stick metal pan. I’ve been using the same USA pans for years and love them. If your pan is not non-stick, try adding some parchment paper to the bottom of your pan. Top the parchment with the olive oil/butter. Then put the focaccia dough on top.
Lemon Sourdough Focaccia
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Equipment
Ingredients
Levain 1:10:10 (overnight about 10-12 hours at 78ºF)
- 5 grams sourdough starter, ripe, bubbly, active, about 1 teaspoon
- 55 grams flour, about 1/2 cup
- 55 grams water, about 1/4 cup
Lemon Sourdough Focaccia
- 100 grams levain, ripe, bubbly and active, scant 1/2 cup
- 400 grams water, about 1 2/3 cup
- 20 grams lemon juice, freshly squeezed, about 1.5 Tablespoons
- 40 grams granulated sugar, about 3 Tablespoons
- 10 grams salt, about 1.5 teaspoons
- 500 grams bread flour, about 3 1/2 cups
- 125 grams white chocolate, chopped and reserved for adding in during coil folds, about 3/4 cup
- 9 grams lemon zest, reserved for adding in during coil folds, about 1.5 Tablespoons
- 30 grams melted butter, for baking, about 2 Tablespoons
- 60 grams olive oil , for baking, about 4 Tablespoons
Lemon Glaze
- 20 grams lemon juice, freshly squeezed, about 1.5 Tablespoons
- 100 grams powdered sugar, about 3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon
Instructions
Levain: Overnight (1:10:10 about 10-12 hours)
- Mix together 5 grams ripe sourdough starter with 55 grams water and 55 grams flour. Cover and let sit overnight at 78ºF until doubled in size, bubbly and active. You can also substitute 100 grams of bubbly sourdough starter if you prefer.
Sweet Lemon Sourdough Focaccia
- Mix: Mix together ripe, bubbly, active levain with water, freshly squeezed lemon juice, granulated sugar, salt and bread flour. Mix together with a dough whisk or spoon until a sticky dough forms. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Coil Fold # 1: Take the cover off the dough and perform 4-6 coil folds. The dough will be very sticky for this first set of coil folds but will strengthen over time. Wet your hands with water. Place your hands under the middle of the dough and pull up. The dough will stretch up (but should not tear) and release from the bottom of the bowl. Once the dough releases, let the dough fall back under itself. Repeat the process for both sides of dough. Then turn the container and repeat the coil fold. Watch a video of the coil fold process here. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the mix-ins: Zest one or two large lemons until you have about 10 grams. Chop up a bar of good quality white chocolate into small pieces.
- Coil Fold #2: Wet your hands. You will notice the dough is stronger than your first set of folds. Smear the zest on top of the dough. Add the white chocolate chunks on top of the zest. Repeat the coil folds, incorporating the white chocolate and lemon zest as you go. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Coil Fold #3: Wet your hands. Perform 3-4 coil folds, mixing the inclusions into the dough. Don't worry if they aren't all completely incorporated yet. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Coil Fold #4: Repeat the last set of coil folds. Cover and rest the dough at 78ºF for 1.5-2 hours until the dough has risen, is starting to dome and has a few scattered bubbles around the edges. Note, the dough will not double in size at this point, but it will rise 30-40%.
- Prepare the Pan: After the long bulk rest, prepare a 9 by 13 metal baking pan with 30 grams melted butter and 30 grams good quality light olive oil. Tip the pan around to coat the entire bottom of the pan. If your pan has issues with dough sticking put some parchment paper down before the butter/oil.
- Shape the Dough: Turn the dough out into the pan and stretch slowly to fill the edges of the pan. Pull up gently on the underside of the dough to stretch it into place. If it doesn't want to stretch, let the dough rest for a minute and then try again. At this point you can cover the dough and refrigerate it for up to 48 hours before proceeding with a second proof and baking.
- Proof the Dough: Let the dough sit in a warm 78-80ºF place for 3-5 hours until doubled in size, puffed up and very airy. If the dough doesn't look like this, warm it up a little more and let it rise longer.
- Dimple the Dough: After the dough is puffed up, jiggly and aerated with air bubbles, pour 30 grams of good quality light olive oil on top of the dough. Take your fingers and gently dimple the dough. Start at the top and work your way down the dough until the entire focaccia is dimpled and bubbly.
- Bake Focaccia: Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF. Once the oven is pre-heated, bake the lemon focaccia for 25-30 minutes until bubbly, crispy and light golden brown on top and the baked focaccia registers 200ºF. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
- Lemon Drizzle: Whisk together powdered sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice to form a thin glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the warm focaccia and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
OMG!! Amy this was fantastic. I recently retired and have more time to experiment with my sourdough. I recently tried your hot cross buns and they came out good, but this was fantastic! My husband and I can’t stop eating it. He asked me if I could make you a garlic one which I’m sure you have in your collection somewhere. I will look for that soon. I did put parchment paper down which I figure parchment paper never fails me and I was glad I did. It was easier to lift out of the pan and onto the rack. The lemon flavor is great and it’s So light and airy. Thank Amy
I’m so glad you loved this recipe and are enjoying experimenting! Thank you for sharing.
Instead of white chocolate could sub blueberries?
You can do that or leave the white chocolate out completely.
I don’t know why it left four stars, I meant to give it five!
I follow this recipe exactly with exception of the white chocolate. Easy to follow, came out perfect. I decided to do the overnight fridge proof.
So glad you loved this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
This is such a tart and delicious take on a sourdough focaccia. I love the lemon drizzle on top too.
I only have glass 9×13 in. pans. Will that work? Anything I need to change?
It should work. I would add parchment paper in the pan before putting any butter or oil down. That will keep it from sticking to your glass pan.