Recipes
Cherry Tomato Sourdough Focaccia Recipe
Dimpled, olive-oiled focaccia with blistered cherry tomatoes and herbs — sheet-pan showstopper.
Cherry tomato sourdough focaccia is a high-hydration dough cold-proofed in an oiled pan, dimpled, topped with tomatoes and herbs, and baked until the edges crisp.
Formula
- 500g bread flour
- 400g water (80%)
- 100g ripe starter
- 10g salt
- Olive oil for the pan
- Cherry tomatoes, flaky salt, rosemary/thyme
Pan method
After bulk, cream the dough into a well-oiled sheet pan. Cold proof 12–24 hours. Rest at room temp if needed, dimple deeply, press in tomatoes, drizzle oil, bake ~450°F until deep gold.
Baker's notes
Weights assume a digital scale. If your kitchen is warmer than ~75°F, expect faster fermentation and consider reducing starter percentage or using cooler water. If colder, extend bulk and rely on dough cues over the clock. Pat mix-ins dry; wet inclusions effectively raise hydration and can wreck strength.
Make-ahead and storage
Shaped dough can usually cold-proof overnight. Baked loaves keep best cut-side down on a board for a day, then bagged. For longer storage, freeze slices or whole loaves and reheat with a light sprinkle of water in a moderate oven.
One thing to remember
When in doubt, give fermentation a fair window before blaming your oven or your scoring.
Scaling
Double ingredients by weight, not fermentation time. Larger dough masses hold heat and may finish bulk earlier.
Fermentation cues for this style
Watch volume and bubble structure more than the minute marks. Enriched and inclusion doughs can feel ready differently than lean country loaves — look for airiness without fragility.
Field notes
In practice, bakers searching for guidance on sourdough focaccia cherry tomato usually need a decision rule, not a lecture. Document one success in enough detail that you could hand the notes to a friend and they could reproduce it. Keep salt around 2%, know your dough temperature, and judge readiness with rise and feel before you invent exotic fixes. Season the process to your kitchen, then play with inclusions once the base loaf is trustworthy.
Also useful: weigh everything, preheat longer than you think, and cool fully before you judge crumb quality. Those three habits make every other tip more reliable.
Frequently asked questions
Tomatoes make it soggy?
Pat dry; don't overload; bake fully until edges crisp.
No starter peak?
Use ripe starter — focaccia hides less weakness than you think.
Thick vs thin?
More dough or smaller pan = thicker focaccia; adjust bake time.
Focaccia is the best overproof rescue — and SourdoughAI helps you choose when to pivot mid-bake day.