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Cheesy Garlic Sourdough Foccacia

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Soft and chewy sourdough foccacia topped with cheese and garlic is the perfect side for any Italian meal. It’s like one big giant bread stick only easier to make!

squares of cheesy foccacia stacked on top of each other

Grab a piece of this cheesy sourdough foccacia to get that extra sauce left on your plate after a delicious pasta meal.  That sauce on is too good to waste and sometimes it’s even better on the bread than the pasta anyway.  So get that sourdough fed and get ready to make some delicious bread!

It’s National Bread Day and that is a holiday a carb lover like me needs to celebrate.  Besides Big Bertha, my sourdough starter, always thinks she needs to be fed! The nerve! 

Big bowl of sourdough sponge ready to be made into focaccia.

So when Karen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories suggested we celebrate by baking some bread, I had to join in.  One look at her site will give you major bread envy. She makes the most beautiful loaves of bread.  Be sure to check her out, but be ready to want some bread!

I originally made some chocolate banana bread, but saw there were quite a few other chocolate recipes on the list.  Now I do love some chocolate, but I thought it would be fun to have a bit more variety.

dough pressed into sheet pan.

So now that recipe will be shared in a couple of weeks.  Today you get cheesy garlic foccacia instead! 

 It just so happened that I was making some of our favorite alfredo sauce with pasta, shrimp and broccoli for dinner.  So I quickly sprung into action and made  this as well.

That alfredo sauce is definitely not something you want to waste, and this gave us a great way to get every last drop!

dough with dimples being brushed with oil.

Luckily I had just fed my sourdough starter the day before when I made some pizza crust. So it was ready to go for this bread. 

It does take a little time to make, but most of it is hands off.  The sponge can be made the night before if you’d like.  In fact, it might even be preferred if you starter is a little lazy like mine.  

cheesy corner of freshly baked bread in sheet pan fresh from oven.

She has gotten quite complacent spending her days in the fridge and usually being fed and quickly returned.  I tend to use the discard for things like muffins and pizza dough more than I use fed starter for boules of bread.  Maybe one of these days that will change!

In the meantime she stays a bit slow and lazy and that works for almost everything I want to do.  It’s just the kind of relationship we have!

shrimp and broccoli fettuccine alfredo and slices of foccacia on plate.

The sponge gets more flour and oil before a couple of rests to rise.  Then another brushing of oil, some garlic powder and a trip to the oven. 

 Just before the bread is done, add a nice generous handful of mozzarella to top it all of.  The result is the perfect combination of soft and chewy foccacia and cheesy garlic bread.  

stack of foccacia slices on cutting board

If you’d like more sourdough recipes, check these out: 

Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Sourdough Waffles

Sourdough Crescent Rolls

More great bread recipes

Yield: 36 Servings

Cheesy Garlic Sourdough Foccacia

Soft and chewy sourdough foccacia topped with cheese and garlic is the perfect side for any Italian meal. It’s like one big giant bread stick only easier to make!

Soft and chewy sourdough foccacia topped with cheese and garlic is the perfect side for any Italian meal. It’s like one big giant bread stick only easier to make!

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Sponge

  • 1 1/2 cups fed sourdough (feed it the day before)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 Tablespoon honey

Bread

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 4 cups flour (give or take)
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Toppings

  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2-3 teaspoons garlic salt
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

Instructions

  1. In a large glass or plastic bowl, mix together sponge ingredients. Allow to sit for at least a couple of hours but as long as overnight. It should be bubbly when it is ready to proceed.
  2. Stir in the additional olive oil, salt and start with 3 1/2 cups of additional flour. Mix until well combined and start to knead on a floured surface. Slowly add flour a little at a time as necessary. The mixture should be soft and moist but not stick after 5-7 minutes of kneading.
  3. Put dough in an oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 1 1/2 -2 hours or until doubled in size. Punch the dough down and place in an oiled sheet pan.
  4. Use your fingers to press the dough to the edges of the sheet pan. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for another hour.
  5. Press your fingers randomly into the dough to create the trademark foccacia dimples. Gently brush with remaining oil and sprinkle with garlic salt.
  6. Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and sprinkle with mozzarella and return to oven for 5-10 minutes more or until bread is done and cheese is lightly golden.
  7. Cool then cut into pieces and serve. Store extras in an airtight bag.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

36

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 118Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 285mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g

All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to see it! Share a picture on Instagram or Pinterest and tag me @carleecooks to let me know how it went!

Thanks for sharing!

Diana Ness

Sunday 26th of February 2023

Delicious! I let mine sit overnight and I added a little rosemary. Very easy recipe. The possibilities are endless. Will definitely make again

Carlee

Sunday 26th of February 2023

I am so glad you liked it. Rosemary sounds like a tasty addition.

Hezzi-D

Friday 16th of November 2018

This sounds amazing! Cheese and bread? Those are my favorite things!

Carlee

Friday 23rd of November 2018

Mine too!

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

Tuesday 6th of November 2018

I've always wanted to make Foccacia, and even more so now! This looks positively delicious!

Carlee

Thursday 8th of November 2018

It's pretty easy and yummy too!

Amy

Friday 26th of October 2018

Love foccacia. We have a local pizzeria that makes a great foccacia bread. Yours sounds like it would be just as good.

Carlee

Saturday 3rd of November 2018

Thank you so much!

Michele

Wednesday 24th of October 2018

Carlee, you found my weakness. Love focaccia! Thank you so much for sharing with us at the Whimsical Wednesdays Link Party! Have a great week!

Carlee

Saturday 3rd of November 2018

The cheese makes it that much better ;-)

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