Ingredients

Instructions

1. Make the levain: In a small bowl, mix the starter, water, and flour and stir until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a medium jar and place in the Folding Proofer or the Sourdough Home set to 78°F (26°C) for 5 hours. When the levain is ready to use, it should have tripled in size, and bubbles will be visible on the top and sides.

∗ Tip: If you have ripe starter on hand, feel free to substitute that for the 140g of levain in the dough.

2. Set up the Proofer: If you did not already have the Proofer set up for the levain, set it up now. Set the Proofer to 78°F (26°C) and put the water tray in the middle of the warming plate. Pour ¼ cups (60 ml) of water into the tray and place the rack on top of it.
3. Mix the dough: Combine the warm water and sourdough starter using the dough whisk and stir until the starter is broken up. Add the flour and stir until completely incorporated and no dry flour remains. Don’t worry about developing the gluten here. Just stir well until a shaggy dough forms, but no dry flour remains.
4. Rest for 30 minutes: Place the dough in the Proofer and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Remove the dough from the Proofer.
5. Add salt and oil: Add the salt and the 15g of olive oil. Use your hand to work the salt and olive oil into the dough until fully incorporated. The dough will seem very slack. This is a higher-hydration dough and it will gain strength as you fold it.
6. Bulk fermentation: Transfer the dough to a greased container and place it in the Proofer. Bulk fermentation will take 2.5 to 3 hours in total. Fold the dough three times at 30-minute intervals during the first hour and a half, and then leave the dough to rest for the remainder of the time. To fold the dough, grab one side, stretch it upward, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl grab another side of the dough, and repeat the stretching and folding. Continue this going around the circumference of the bowl motion about 20 more times until the dough begins to strengthen and show some resistance.
7. Chill overnight: Remove the dough from the Proofer and move directly into the refrigerator overnight. (Cover the proofing container if it has not already been covered.)
8. Prepare the pan: Pour 15g (1 tablespoon) of olive oil into the 9x13-inch pan and spread around to coat the bottom and sides.
9. Shape the focaccia: Remove the focaccia from the refrigerator and dump the dough into the prepared pan. Using wet or oiled hands (to prevent the dough from sticking), stretch the dough to fit the pan. The dough may give some resistance, so just stretch it as much as you can for now without forcing or tearing it. You can stretch it a bit more, about half an hour into proofing.
10. Final proof: Place the pan in the Proofer and allow it to rise for 2.5 to 3 hours. After about 30 minutes, check the dough, and if it hasn’t relaxed to the edges of the pan, gently stretch it to fill out the pan as much as possible. It’s ok if it doesn’t quite reach. The dough will relax more over time. Leave the dough to finish proofing undisturbed for the remainder of the time. When proofing is done, the dough should have relaxed to fill out the pan and should have visibly risen. You should see bubbles on the top of the dough, and if you gently shake the pan, the dough should jiggle.
11. Preheat the oven: Toward the end of the proofing time, place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C).
12. Dimple and top the focaccia: Remove the pan from the Proofer. Run your hands under water or lightly coat them in oil. (This will help prevent the dough from sticking to you.) Dimple the dough with your fingers by gently pressing them through the dough until they reach the bottom of the pan, starting at one end of the pan and working to the other. Drizzle the remaining 15g of olive oil all over the surface of the dough and then sprinkle with the herbs and the sea salt.
13. Bake: Place the pan in the oven and bake at 450°F (232°C) for 25 to 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let the focaccia cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then remove from the pan to finish cooling on a rack.

∗ Tip: Same-day option: Rather than chilling the dough overnight and finishing the next day, you can bake it the same day. The overnight rest in the refrigerator will allow the dough more time to develop flavor and texture, but the focaccia will still be delicious without this step. To process the same-day baking, just skip the overnight chilling and proceed with the steps as written. Because the dough will not have been chilled, it will likely proof a bit faster, probably 2 hours total.