Focaccia

§ PROCEDURE

1. In a large bowl, combine 50 g ripe sourdough starter and 400 g room-temperature water. Mix until the starter is fully dissolved. Add 500 g bread flour and 10 g salt. Mix until no dry flour remains and a shaggy dough forms.
2. Stretch and fold the dough 5–10 times: grab one side, stretch it up, and fold it over the opposite side. Work around the bowl. The dough will feel rough at first and become smoother and more elastic as you go.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature to ferment overnight — about 10 hours. By morning, the dough should be noticeably bubbly and have grown.
4. Generously coat a 9×13 inch baking pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Scoop the fermented dough into the center of the pan. Fold the four edges of the dough inward toward the center, then flip the dough over so the folded seam is on the bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest and rise for 2–3 hours at room temperature.
5. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Once the dough has relaxed and spread in the pan, use your fingertips to dimple the entire surface, pressing down firmly and covering every area. The dough should reach the edges of the pan.
6. Drizzle 2 tbsp of olive oil over the top. Scatter fresh rosemary leaves and flaky sea salt over the surface. Add any optional toppings at this stage.
7. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the surface is deep golden brown. Immediately remove the focaccia from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack — leaving it in the pan traps steam and softens the bottom crust.

§ OBSERVED RESULT

The bottom emerges dark and crispy, the top is golden with irregular rosemary-scented dimples that caught and crisped in the olive oil. The interior is soft and open-crumbed, with a faint tang from the overnight ferment. Earth specimens tear it by hand rather than cutting it. Both methods produce the same result. I prefer tearing.