A free Chef Evangalene lesson
Sourdough Focaccia for Albuquerque’s Dry Air: Same-Day and Overnight
Before you mix
The three things that keep Albuquerque focaccia soft and open.
This dough is simple on purpose. The useful part is learning what to protect in a dry kitchen and what to watch before you push it into the oven.
Dry air can skin a dough while the inside is still developing. A lid, reusable cover, or lightly oiled wrap protects the stretch you are trying to build.
Focaccia wants to be puffy and extensible. If it tears when you stretch it, give it rest. If it is collapsing, get it into the pan and bake it.
Oil under the dough fries the bottom lightly; oil on top helps make those signature dimples. Do not be shy with it, especially in a metal pan.
Pick your schedule
One pan of focaccia, two useful ways to get there.
My honest rule: choose the same-day dough when you need dinner today. Choose the overnight dough when you want more flexibility tomorrow. In both cases, the dough’s readiness matters more than an exact hour count.
Same-day recipe · one 9 × 13-inch pan
A lively dinner-today focaccia.
This is the route I use when I want an actual sourdough loaf on the table tonight. Keep the dough covered between folds and let its growth, not panic, set the pace.
Ingredients
- 100 g ripe, active sourdough starter
- 390 g water, holding back up to 20 g
- 550 g bread flour
- 12 g fine sea salt
- 25 g extra-virgin olive oil
- 45 g olive oil for the pan and top
- Flaky salt, rosemary, or your favorite simple topping
Method
- Stir the starter into the water. Add flour and mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
- Work in salt and olive oil. Add the held water a little at a time only if the dough still feels tight. Cover.
- Give the dough three sets of stretch-and-folds or coil folds, spaced about 20–30 minutes apart. Keep it covered between every set.
- Let it continue until puffy, bubbly, and roughly 60–75% larger—not necessarily doubled. Oil a 9 × 13-inch metal pan well and ease the dough in.
- Rest until the dough has spread, looks aerated, and wobbles when the pan moves. Heat the oven to 450°F. Oil your fingers, dimple all the way down, drizzle with more oil, and add flaky salt.
- Bake until deeply golden with a crisp underside, usually about 20–26 minutes. Cool just long enough that the crumb can set before slicing.
Overnight recipe · one 9 × 13-inch pan
A calmer next-day focaccia.
The refrigerator gives this dough room to become flavorful without making you babysit it. The next day, it still needs a gentle warm-up and a puffy final proof in the pan.
Ingredients
- 75 g ripe, active sourdough starter
- 400 g water
- 550 g bread flour
- 12 g fine sea salt
- 25 g extra-virgin olive oil
- 45 g olive oil for the pan and top
- Flaky salt, rosemary, or your favorite simple topping
Method
- In the evening, stir starter into water, add flour, and mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
- Work in salt and olive oil. Give the dough two gentle sets of folds over the next 45–60 minutes, keeping the bowl covered.
- Refrigerate the dough 12–18 hours while it is still elastic and quietly rising. Do not wait for it to double before the fridge.
- The next day, oil a 9 × 13-inch metal pan generously. Ease in the cold dough, cover, and let it relax before stretching toward the corners. If it pulls back, wait 20 minutes and stretch again.
- When it is puffy, bubbly, and jiggly, heat the oven to 450°F. Dimple with oiled fingers, drizzle with oil, add salt, and bake until deeply golden with a crisp underside.
Pan, dimple, bake
The last twenty minutes are where focaccia gets its character.
The goal is not a pale bread sponge with a few dents. You want a bottom that has had contact with hot oil, a top that bronzes, and a crumb that stays tender once you cut it.
- Use a metal pan. It gives the oil a better chance to crisp the bottom. Oil the corners too; focaccia loves to stick exactly where you forgot.
- Dimple decisively. Press down until you feel the pan, then lift your fingers straight up. That makes pockets for the oil instead of tearing the dough sideways.
- Read color and underside. Golden top, crisp edges, and a bottom with real color beat a timer alone. If toppings brown early, cover loosely only after the dough has begun to set.
Focaccia pizza night
Turn the same dough into a pizza night that actually works.
Focaccia dough is generous. Keep the topping light, give the base a head start, and you get a crisp-edged, pillowy pan pizza without drowning the dough in sauce.
Stretch it toward the corners in stages. If it fights you, cover it and wait. Forcing it tears the gluten you just spent hours building.
Bake it until the surface is beginning to set and the edges look pale-gold. Then add a thin layer of sauce, cheese, and toppings.
Wet toppings are the enemy of a fluffy base. Drain vegetables, use less sauce than feels emotionally correct, and let the underside be your final judge.
Focaccia questions, answered plainly
What bakers actually ask me about focaccia.
You are allowed to use a recipe and still watch the dough. That is the whole point.
Why does my focaccia dough feel dry on top in Albuquerque?
Dry air can form a skin on exposed dough quickly. Cover the bowl and the pan well. Check the dough below the surface before adding extra flour or water; a dry skin is usually a coverage problem first.
Do I need to change the flour or starter amount for Albuquerque?
Start with the formula as written and pay attention to feel. Flour can absorb differently from day to day, so reserve a little water when you mix and add it only if the dough still feels tight after its rest. Do not make a big adjustment just because you live at altitude.
How do I know the final proof is ready?
The dough should be puffy, aerated, and jiggly when you move the pan. Oiled fingertips should leave soft dimples that slowly relax around the edges. If it snaps back hard, it needs more rest; if it is deflating, dimple and bake it now.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
Yes, but the dough may feel softer and less stretchy. Hold back a little water at first, use gentle folds, and expect a slightly more tender crumb. Bread flour gives a wider margin for those dramatic, open focaccia bubbles.
Can I bake this as focaccia pizza?
Absolutely. Let the dough rise in the pan, give it a short bare parbake until the surface begins to set, then top lightly and finish the bake. Too much wet sauce or too many toppings will make the center heavy.
When a class would actually help
Do not have an active starter—or want to see these dough cues in real life?
Make the focaccia path above if you have a starter ready to use. If you do not yet know how to feed, read, ferment, shape, and bake with an active starter, that is the moment a hands-on sourdough class earns its place. I will show you the texture and timing you cannot learn from a timer alone.
Learn sourdough with Chef Evangalene