Sourdough Focaccia

This thick, bubbly flatbread glistening with olive oil is an easy bread to make at home and one of the most versatile. Cut it into squares for an appetizer or to accompany a light lunch or dinner, or slice it in half for sandwiches. This version, adapted from my book The Perfect Loaf (Clarkson Potter, 2022), is leavened with a sourdough starter, which adds a faint tang that's more savory than sour and makes the texture slightly more chewy. While many sourdough focaccia recipes call for an overnight preferment or final proof, this one uses a ripe starter straight from the jar and a warm kitchen so that it can come together in a single day. The key to a tall, fluffy, open focaccia is dough strength, which comes from thorough mixing. High hydration helps here too; in this recipe, the water is added in two stages because gluten develops more readily during mixing when the dough isn't excessively wet.