She’s just lightly sweet, perfectly salty, a touch spicy and briny– she’s a (smoky chipotle marinated) strawberry sourdough focaccia.

Sourdough Strawberry Focaccia

with smokey chipotle!

Originally published in my Substack newsletter, this strawberry focaccia is packed with fresh summer strawberries tossed in a smoky chipotle spice marinade for a result that is simply explosive (as it effectively hits all your taste buds).

And while the strawberry marinade is utterly delightful fresh too, the flavors caramelize into perfection when roasted (and seep into our focaccia in question, creating literal pockets of briny, sweet, salty ‘n spicy goodness).

the deets

This lady right here taught me quite a bit about just how much adding fruit powders speeds up the fermentation process (and, interestingly, also sort of hinders the creation of gluten bonds)(something which I experienced mildly with black cocoa). And I say this because when I attempted it at 90% hydration, no matter how many stretch ‘n folds I did, she simply refused to take much shape (i.e. forget about window panes, she wouldn’t even properly stretch).

So I took down the hydration to 80% and things went back to normal… though she still behaved very much like our 90% beauty (in both fluidity of texture and how quickly she fermented)(in fact, expect pretty much to cut fermentation in half when adding any form of sugar).

As while you can certainly whip up a version of this with just the smoky chipotle strawberry topping and our regular focaccia dough… the permeating strawberry taste in the dough is both special and captivating.

(side note: I do think that you can achieve something similar by simply adding a jam, but I ultimately went for a freeze dried strawberry powder here as the taste is brighter and less sweet (and I’m certainly still inclined to classify our gal as a savory-ishappetizer)).

p.s. I also added some dragon fruit powder because I wanted an ultra vibrant pink (and pure strawberry results in a lighter hue that muddles a tad when baked)(you can see it at play solo in my neopolitan marbled sourdough).

The result though?

An ultra crisp crust with a vibrant and plush interior.

(Smokey Chipotle!) Sourdough Strawberry Focaccia

A play on sweet and savory- she’s just lightly sweet, perfectly salty, a touch spicy and briny, she’s a (smoky chipotle marinated) sourdough strawberry focaccia

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

proofing time 1 day d

Course Bread

Cuisine European

Servings 1 focaccia

Equipment

• cast iron skillet or half tray (it will come out a more "traditional" thickness

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 400 g spring water
• 100 g active starter
• 50 g raw honey
• 500 g strong bread flour
• 7 g sea salt
• 40 g strawberry powder *
• 10 g dragon fruit powder *

for the toppings

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 cloves garlic very finely minced
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chile
• 1 cup strawberries thinly sliced
• 1 fresh chipotle chile thinly sliced
• 3 fresh oregano springs
• flaky sea salt to taste

Instructions

 

make your dough

• Add the water (preferably at room temp), active starter and honey to a large bowl. Using your hands (though some peeps favor a danish hook) mix the starter with the water until dissolved (don’t overthink it if a few lumps remain).
• Add in the flour, fruit powders and salt and mix with your hands until just combined and the dough is all shaggy (and yes, super sticky so a plastic bench scraper can come in handy)
• Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

30 mins later: bulk rise (plus stretch ‘n folds)

• Thirty minutes in you’ll want to do a set of “stretch ‘n folds”: grab a hold of the dough, stretch it upwards and fold it down towards the center of the bowl. Rotate and repeat four times (you can watch me do it here).
• Repeat three more times every thirty minutes.
• Drizzle olive oil onto a medium sized bowl and transfer the dough gently (as its easier to gauge the rise if you can actually mark it with a sharpie) and cover with a kitchen towel.
• Allow to rest for 3-8 hours, or until *just* doubled in size (remember that time here is directly influenced by temperature so it’ll vary greatly). And unlike regular sourdough loafs, I actually don’t let my dough triple at room temperature here as I prefer to now pop it in the fridge so I can bake it *exactly* when I want.

optional: cold proof

• Cold proofing here helps to develop flavor further (and allows you to gauge more accurately to bake when needed), but you can also skip it.

  Transfer the dough to the fridge once it has doubled in size. Just note that this one ferments very quickly in my experience, so just do 24 hours (or make sure that it doesn’t triple in size!).

  vip note; I know some folk like to transfer it to the fridge already in its baking dish (effectively doing the second rise as a cold proof as we do with regular sourdough loafs), but imo doing the second proof at room temp works best when it comes to sourdough focaccia given that we’re throwing olive oil in the mix (fats really do make the culture work so much harder, which is why so many sourdough recipes out there for focaccia also add a tablespoon of active yeast).

2-4 hours before baking: “shape”

• Lucky for us focaccia doesn’t require actual shaping, but I do like to give it a couple folds with olive oil when transferring it onto your baking dish of choice from the fridge (think of it as a gentler alternative to punching the dough, while beginning to incorporate layers of flavor).
• Allow to proof at room temperature for about 2 -4 more hours, or until super bubbly and doubled in size (see video for reference).

  another vip note: your focaccia may stick somewhat to pretty much any baking dish you use. Some folk like to grease them with butter (I don’t as it does change the taste profile) and others line the dish with parchment paper (I don’t either as the crust ends up significantly less crisp)– just expect your focaccia to stick slightly in certain parts, but as long as it’s oiled well enough it’ll still come out with a nudge (or five).

garnish ‘n bake away!

• vip note: you effectively want to create pockets of briny ‘n spicy flavor, so scatter your strawberry slices and spoon the remaining vinaigrette right on top of each slice so it caramelizes through while baking into little pockets. You’re aiming for this cross-section:
• Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C and mix your topping ingredients in a small bowl, seasoning to taste.
• Drizzle more evoo on top your focaccia dough and, using your hands, dimple it in while giving it a little wiggle to break up the biggest bubbles. Nestle in your strawberries, chipotle and oregano.
• Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes if using a skillet (and about 35-40 if using a larger baking dish). I like to place a dome of aluminum on it once I see it beginning to overly brown (just be sure to place it strategically to allow the steam to escape so it still crisps up)(and also feel free to drizzle in a touch more evoo during baking if you see the top is looking a little dry).
• Hold your horses for 15-20 minutes before serving (it’ll still be warm, worry not!)(we just don’t want to wreck our crumb ok?).
• Sit, enjoy, be present and enjoy the satisfying fruits of your hard work (and store at room temp in an airtight container for a few days).

Video

Notes

*note: I do think that you can achieve something similar by simply adding a jam, but I ultimately went for a freeze dried strawberry powder here as the taste is brighter and less sweet (and I’m certainly still inclined to classify our gal as a savory-ishappetizer)).

p.s. I also added some dragon fruit powder because I wanted an ultra vibrant pink (and pure strawberry results in a lighter hue that muddles a tad when baked)

Keyword sourdough strawberry focaccia, strawberry focaccia

Whip up this recipe?Comment below or drop me a line @paola.vanderhulst and tag #gnomgnomyum!