Roasted Garlic Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia

Sourdough Rosemary Garlic Focaccia bread on a cutting board.

5 from 7 votes

Roasted Garlic Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia

This Roasted Garlic Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia is a family favorite. It's soft, flavorful, and loaded with roasted garlic and herbs. Perfect for sandwiches, dipping, or sharing around the dinner table.

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Fermentation Time1 10

Total Time1 11 30

Course: Appetizer, Focaccia Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Amy Coyne

Equipment

Ingredients

Levain (1:10:10, overnight or about 10-12 hours)

5 grams ripe sourdough starter about 1 teaspoon
55 grams room temperature water about 1/4 cup
55 grams all-purpose or bread flour scant 1/2 cup

Roasted Garlic

3 bulbs garlic about 120 grams of mashed, roasted garlic
olive oil to drizzle
sprinkle of flaky sea salt optional

Roasted Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Dough

100 grams levain ripe, bubbly, active, scant 1/2 cup
400 grams water, room temperature about 1 2/3 cups
500 grams bread flour see recipe notes for substitutions, about 3 2/3 cups
13 grams salt about 2 teaspoons
2 of the roasted garlic bulbs cooled to room temperature
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary finely chopped, about 3-4 grams

Focaccia Topping

70 grams olive oil divided, see recipe notes, about 5 Tablespoons
5-10 grams flaky sea salt see recipe notes, about 2 teaspoons
1 bulb roasted garlic
1 spring fresh rosemary finely chopped
sprinkle of flaky sea salt optional

Instructions

Mix the Levain (1:10:10, overnight about 10-12 hours at 78ºF)

Mix together 5 grams ripe sourdough starter with 55 grams water and 55 grams flour. Cover and let sit overnight at 76-78ºF until doubled in size, bubbly and active.
Alternatively, if you have a ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter, you can substitute 100 grams of bubbly starter for the levain in this recipe.

Roast the Garlic

The day before or a few hours before mixing your dough, prepare the roasted garlic. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Prepare 3 garlic bulbs by peeling any excess outer skin. Slice the tops of the garlic bulbs about 1/2 inch from the top of the cloves, cutting away the skin until the garlic cloves are exposed. Place garlic bulbs in the middle of a large sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and a little salt. Wrap garlic bulbs in the foil completely. Place in a baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes until the cloves are very soft and caramelized.
Remove roasted garlic from the oven and let cool completely. Squeeze garlic cloves from the bottom of the bulb, pushing the cloves out of the bulb and into a container. This step can also be done a day or two before making this recipe – refrigerate the garlic until ready to use.

Roasted Garlic Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia Dough

Mix the Dough: To a bowl, add 100 grams levain, 400 grams water, 10 grams salt, and 500 grams of 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: After 30 minutes, remove the cover and perform 4-6 coil folds. The dough will be very sticky for this first set of coil folds but will strengthen over time.
To 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 the dough. Then turn the container and repeat the coil fold. I find it very helpful to watch this process before attempting it. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Coil Fold 2: After 30 minutes, spread 2 of the whole roasted garlic bulbs on top of the dough. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary on top of the dough. Lightly wet your hands. Repeat the coil fold 4-6 times. The garlic and rosemary will begin to spread throughout the dough. You will notice the dough is stronger than your first set of coil folds. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Coil Fold 3: After 30 more minutes, lightly wet your hands. Repeat the coil fold 4-6 times. Notice the dough is getting stronger, the coil folds are easier to perform, and the garlic and rosemary are dispersing throughout the dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
Coil Fold 4: After 30 more minutes, repeat the coil fold 4-6 times. The dough should feel fairly strong and cohesive.
Bulk Fermentation Continued: Cover and rest for 1.5-2 hours until the dough has scattered bubbles around the edges, has risen about 30-40% and is jiggly. This timeframe is based on a dough temperature of 78ºF. Colder dough will take longer and warmer dough will move faster.
Prepare the Pan: After the bulk rest, pour 40 grams (3 Tablespoons) olive oil into a 12-inch round or 9 by 13-inch metal baking pan. Tip the pan around to cover the entire bottom of the baking pan – add a little more oil if needed.
If you are not using a non-stick metal pan, cover the pan in parchment paper before adding the oil to prevent the dough from sticking.
Prepare Focaccia and Cold Ferment: 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. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and stick in the refrigerator to rest/cold ferment overnight.
If you prefer to skip the cold fermentation, let the dough rise until bubbly and doubled in size (about 3-4 hours at 78-80ºF) and bake according to recipe directions.

Proof and Bake Focaccia

Proof: Take the pan of dough out of the fridge and set it on the counter. Let it come to room temperature and rise until doubled (3-5 hours at 78-80ºF). The focaccia dough will begin to bubble up as it rises on the counter and the dough will fill the pan and feel light, airy, and jiggly.
The key to a bubbly, airy focaccia is to give it time to rise and almost over-proof. If your dough is not doubling in size or rising, find a warmer place to proof the dough before you bake it and give it more time.
Preheat the Oven: Once the dough has doubled in size and is ready to bake, preheat oven to 450ºF.
Dimple and Top: Drizzle more olive oil (about 30 grams/2 Tablespoons) over the top of the risen dough. Spread it out with your hands so it evenly covers the dough. Take the reserved 1 bulb of roasted garlic. Break up the cloves into smaller pieces and spread over the top of the dough. Sprinkle fresh chopped rosemary on top. 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. Sprinkle the top of the dough with flaky sea salt if desired.
Bake: Bake for 25-30 minutes until bubbly, crispy and light golden brown on top. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool. Cool to room temperature before slicing. Enjoy!

Notes

Sourdough Starter: I make a levain for all of my sourdough recipes because it gives more consistent results. If you don’t want to use that method, you can substitute ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter for the same amount of levain.

Bread Flour: This is a high-hydration recipe. If you choose to use a flour with a lower protein content than bread flour (lower than 12.5%), you will want to decrease the water in the recipe. If using all-purpose flour I would start with 375 grams of water – you can always add a little more if needed.

Olive Oil: Choose an olive oil that you like the flavor of. It will transfer over to the flavor of the baked dough. I prefer a light-tasting olive oil.

Nutrition