This is my take on a delicious and spicy focaccia. This recipe uses sourdough and is fully fermented, filled with crispy onion chili oil and finished with a drizzle of hot honey. This is the perfect balance of flavors and a nice change of pace from your traditional sourdough focaccia.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Spicy Focaccia
When I think of a “spicy” focaccia, I think of jalapenos because it’s the obvious choice of spice when it comes to bread. But using chili crunch oil is the best choice with focaccia because it already has the oil that this bread uses but with the extra flavor. This would make a great breakfast sandwich bread with eggs and avocado!
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Starter – Bubbly, active sourdough starter that has been previously fed and is at its peak so it will make your sourdough focaccia properly rise.
Water – Filtered water is always best to use with sourdough recipes.
Flour – I like Kirkland’s organic, unbleached all-purpose flour from Costco because it is good quality flour while being super affordable. You can use what you have on hand! Just make sure it’s unbleached.
Olive oil – Focaccia uses a decent amount of olive oil, so having a good quality one will make a different.
Salt – I like Pink Himalayan salt but use what you have!
Chili crunch oil – There are a ton of options for this, but I just always have the trader joes brand available in my fridge. There are even recipes online to make it from scratch!!
👩🍳 How to Make Spicy Focaccia
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- In the afternoon, when your sourdough starter is bubbly and active, assemble your dough.
Dough Assembly
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your sourdough starter, water, chili oil, and olive oil. Add in your flour and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
- After resting, perform your first set of stretch and folds by pulling one side of the dough up and towards the middle, rotating the bowl each time until a semi smooth dough forms.
- Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Perform 2 – 4 more stretch and folds every 30 minutes to one hour apart.
- After your last stretch and fold, cover with a damp tea towel or bowl cover and let rest on the counter overnight to bulk ferment. About 12 hours.
In the morning
- The next morning, your dough should have doubled in size.
- Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil into your baking dish. Transfer your dough directly into the pan
- Fold the top of the dough up and in the middle, repeat the same with the bottom. Flip the dough seam side down so the dough is covered in olive oil.
- Cover and let rest for 1 – 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size and puffy.
- When your dough is ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
- Use your fingers to create dimples all over the surface of the dough.
- Spoon the chili onion crunch evenly over the dough, ensuring it gets into the dimples. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top if desired
- Bake at 450 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes until the top is brown and crispy and the bread is fully cooked.
- Finish off with a drizzle of hot honey, cut into squares or wedges and serve warm. Enjoy as an appetizer, snack, or side dish!
🪄 Tips and Tricks
- Temperature really matters when it comes to sourdough and fermentation. If it is the wintertime and your house is cooler than usual, the bulk fermentation will likely take a little longer.Same goes with your sourdough starter. If you want to ensure you’re putting your dough together in a timely manner, you may have to feed your starter a little earlier in the day because it could take longer to rise.
- You can experiment with additional toppings like olives, cheese, or herbs to customize your spicy focaccia.
- If your chili crunch topping is starting to get too dark while baking, cover with aluminum foil halfway through baking to help it from burning.
🗒 Variations
Focaccia is a great bread for beginners because it’s a fool proof dough that is very forgiving. You can top a classic focaccia bread with anything, but I like this recipe because it includes the chili oil inside of the dough for more flavor.
Here are some other focaccia recipes you might like!
- Maple Bacon Focaccia – Acts Of Sourdough
- French Onion Focaccia – Acts Of Sourdough
- Sourdough Focaccia Pizza – Acts Of Sourdough
- Peach + Mozzarella Focaccia – Acts Of Sourdough
🗒 Substitutions
Homemade chili crunch oil alternative: Sauté garlic and onions in olive oil until soft, then add chili flakes or fresh chopped chili to taste.
All-purpose flour: You can substitute with bread flour for a chewier texture or whole wheat flour for added fiber.
Olive oil: If you want a more subtle flavor, you can use a neutral oil or avocado oil.
Instead of just chili onion crunch as a topping, try adding olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, or cheese (like feta or mozzarella) as toppings.
If you don’t have a sourdough starter, add yeast for a quicker rise and a same day bread! Starter with 2 – 3 teaspoons of instant yeast and let it rise for a couple of hours until it is nice and puffy.
🗒 Best served with
- mozzarella, burrata, or goat cheese.
- fresh green salad for a more complete meal.
- avocado toast, over easy eggs or as a breakfast sandwich
👝 How to Store Leftovers
- Wrap It Up: Once cooled, wrap the focaccia in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. This will help to keep it from drying out.
- Store at Room Temperature: Place the wrapped focaccia in a cool, dry place at room temperature. It should be consumed within 1-2 days for the best quality.
- Use an Airtight Container: After wrapping it, transfer the focaccia to an airtight container. This will help keep it fresher for a longer time.
- Freeze: If you want to store focaccia for a longer period, freezing is your best option. Wrap the focaccia tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place it in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
🤔 Common Questions
If your chili crunch is burning while baking, try waiting to add the topping until halfway through baking, or cover the top with aluminum foil with 10 – 15 minutes left so it doesn’t get too dark.
add yeast for a quicker rise and a same day bread! Starter with 2 – 3 teaspoons of instant yeast and let it rise for a couple of hours until it is nice and puffy.
Spicy Focaccia
Equipment
- Large baking dish
- bread knife
Ingredients
- 200 grams bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 25 grams olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 25 grams crispy onion chili oil plus more for topping
- 380 grams water
- 600 grams all purpose flour
- 9 grams salt
- drizzle of hot honey for finishing
Instructions
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- In the afternoon, when your sourdough starter is bubbly and active, assemble your dough.
Dough Assembly
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your sourdough starter, water, chili oil, and olive oil. Add in your flour and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
- After resting, perform your first set of stretch and folds by pulling one side of the dough up and towards the middle, rotating the bowl each time until a semi smooth dough forms.
- Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Perform 2 – 4 more stretch and folds every 30 minutes to one hour apart.
- After your last stretch and fold, cover with a damp tea towel or bowl cover and let rest on the counter overnight to bulk ferment. About 12 hours.
In the morning
- The next morning, your dough should have doubled in size.
- Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil into your baking dish. Transfer your dough directly into the pan
- Fold the top of the dough up and in the middle, repeat the same with the bottom. Flip the dough seam side down so the dough is covered in olive oil.
- Cover and let rest for 1 – 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size and puffy.
- When your dough is ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
- Use your fingers to create dimples all over the surface of the dough.
- Spoon the chili onion crunch evenly over the dough, ensuring it gets into the dimples. Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top if desired
- Bake at 450 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes until the top is brown and crispy and the bread is fully cooked.
- Finish off with a drizzle of hot honey, cut into squares or wedges and serve warm. Enjoy as an appetizer, snack, or side dish!
Notes
- You can experiment with additional toppings like olives, cheese, or herbs to customize your spicy focaccia.
Nutrition
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