Sourdough Focaccia {Light + Airy Focaccia Recipe} - crave the good (2024)

FAQs

Why isn t my focaccia airy? ›

Why is my focaccia not fluffy or chewy? It could be the type of flour you used. The best flour to use to make focaccia bread is bread flour which gives you fluffy baked bread. Or, it could also be because you did not knead the dough enough for the gluten to form a structure which can result in flat or dense bread.

Like croissants and brioche buns, focaccia is high in calories and fat. Most people aren't aware of it, but it contains a lot of olive oil, which in excess has the same effect. To lose weight, people should choose whole-grain or rye bread, which has more fibre and is lower in fat and calories.

Not doing the stretch and folds could cause your focaccia to be flat and dense when you bake it. This kneading process develops the gluten structure.

Focaccia Variations

The higher the temperature, the sooner the outside will brown and form a crust. From my experimentation, I noticed higher temperatures with a thinner dough lead to crispier focaccia. On the other hand, lower temperatures with thicker doughs yield a softer crumb.

Not allowing the focaccia to proof long enough in the fridge will prevent enough gluten from being formed. This causes flat and dense focaccia once baked. If you are short on time, preform some stretch and folds as this mimics the kneading process, helping to develop the gluten structure.

This involves gently stretching the dough to elongate the emerging air bubbles, then neatly folding the dough upon itself to keep the dough shape compact. Between stretches and folds you probably need to leave the dough a minimum of an hour, to allow time for the bubbles to grow bigger and new ones to emerge.

Sourdough is more nutritious, easier to digest, and has a lower glycemic index. Sourdough also contains less gluten than other bread.

Rather, focaccia provides complex carbohydrates that slowly give the body energy and help better regulate blood sugar levels,” Schirò explains. If it's made with whole wheat flour then it's got an extra edge. “It provides a greater amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Sourdough bread can be really light if you know how to play with your ratios. When I want a really fluffy, light loaf with a thin crust I work 300g starter to each kilogram of flour and 500g water (less or more depending on the kind of bread I'm making). A teaspoon of sugar helps.

Why is my sourdough focaccia gummy? ›

Too much water can also produce a damp loaf. Try less water with your flour. Uneven heat in your oven can be the culprit – if you loaf is nicely golden on the outside but gummy or moist in the inside, it's baking too quickly on the outside. Trying reducing the temperature you're baking at and bake for a bit longer.

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

I love rosemary focaccia, so I use fresh rosemary, but you can try a different blend of herbs if you'd like to (or leave them out and just make garlic focaccia). Flour: All-purpose flour or bread flour is perfect for making focaccia bread.

The high water content makes the dough more liquid and sticky, allowing it to spread easily in the pan and create those signature dimples on the surface. The moisture in the dough also contributes to a soft and airy crumb, giving focaccia its characteristic light and chewy texture.

The longer you allow the dough to rise, the more air and spongy the bread will be.

The usual reason why bread becomes too dense is due to using flour with low protein content. When your loaf is spongy and heavy, you might have also put too much flour into it or made the dough in a cooler or too warm setting.

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

Two things that cause bread like this is having a starter that is not very active or under proofing your dough during bulk fermentation!

While underworked dough can simply be fixed by a little more kneading, severely overworked dough cannot be fixed. Instead, the overworked dough will result in a hard loaf that will likely not be eaten. It's important not to overwork your dough and continually check for overworking throughout the kneading process.