You may have seen my Easy Overnight Sourdough Focaccia recipe. It is an 85% hydration focaccia and it makes the softest, chewy focaccia. This Chili Oil version leverages the same process, replacing the olive oil used with Chinese Chili Oil, giving the focaccia a smokiness and firey heat.
The spiciness of the focaccia is really dependent on the chili oil being used but whichever brand you choose (or if you use your own homemade oil), its best to tread carefully and sample a piece before indulging.
The Method
- Mix together sourdough, water, salt, and flour until a sticky dough forms. Let the dough rest for 30min to hydrate.
- Stretch and fold the dough. Take the dough from the sides and stretch it up and over the center of the dough. Rotate and repeat, stretching and folding about 6 times. Cover and let the dough rise overnight 8-12hrs.
- Generously coat a baking dish with the oil portion of the chili oil. Turn the mixing bowl upside down and let gravity do its magic and let the dough fall into the dish. Scrape any leftover dough out of the mixing bowl.
- Fold the four sides of the dough over itself (like closing a cardboard box). Flip it so the seam side is down (picture 1, below) and let rise uncovered 4-6hrs.
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Speckle the dough with the solid parts (chilis) of the chili oil (picture 2, below). Oil your fingers with olive oil and dimple and stretch the dough to fit the pan. Generously sprinkle with flakey sea salt (picture 3, below) and bake for 25 minutes or until golden
Tips and Recommendations
- Choosing the right oil is probably the most important thing, other than having an active sourdough starter, for this recipe. It dictates whether or not the chili would burn and how spicy your focaccia will be. Choose a chili oil with more visible flakes rather than one that is finely crushed. This will prevent the chilies from burning in the oven when the focaccia is being cooked
- Before dimpling the focaccia, lightly scatter the chilis over the focaccia. You can add more or less depending on your spice tolerance, but for the first time, it is best to start off with a light hand. After scattering the chilis, oil your fingers with olive oil and gently spread the chilies over the top of the focaccia. Then start dimpling your dough. Finish off with a generous dusting of flakey sea salt.
- If your spice tolerance is lower, you can use a combination of olive oil and chili oil.
Looking for more sourdough recipes? Check these out:
- Sourdough Multipurpose Soft Bread Rolls (Tangzhong)
- Flakey Sourdough Discard Biscuits
- Rustic Overnight Sourdough Bread Rolls
- Sourdough Neapolitan Pizza Dough
Chili Oil Sourdough Focaccia
This Chinese fusion sourdough focaccia is wonderfully smoky, savory, and salty and packs some serious heat. If you love spicy food, you will adore this play on focaccia!
Equipment
- 10-10.5″ cast iron skillet or Baking Dish
- baking sheet or aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 25 g active sourdough starter
- 212 g water room temperature
- 5 g salt
- 250 g bread flour or all purpose flour
- Chinese chili oil like lao gan ma ideally one with coarse chili flakes*
- olive oil optional
- Maldon flakey sea salt
Instructions
- Mix together sourdough, water, salt, and flour until a sticky dough forms. Let the dough rest for 30min to hydrate.
- Stretch and fold the dough. Take the dough from the sides and stretch it up and over the center of the dough. Rotate and repeat, stretching and folding about 6 times. Cover and let the dough rise overnight 8-12hrs.
- Generously coat a baking dish with the oil portion of the chili oil. Turn the mixing bowl upside down and let gravity do its magic and let the dough fall into the dish. Scrape any leftover dough out of the mixing bowl.
- Fold the four sides of the dough over itself (like closing a cardboard box). Flip it so the seam side is down and let rise uncovered 4-6hrs.
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Speckle the dough with the solid parts (chilis) of the chili oil. Oil your fingers with olive oil and dimple and stretch the dough to fit the pan. Generously sprinkle with flakey sea salt.
- Place the focaccia on the middle rack and place a baking sheet on the rack directly above it. This will prevent the chilis from burning. Alternatively, you can cover the top with aluminum foil. Just make sure to remove the foil near the end and finish baking the focaccia uncovered so the top gets some color. Bake the focaccia for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 375F. Continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until the top of the focaccia is a nice golden brown.
- Let the focaccia cool for 15 minutes in the cast iron skillet before removing it from the skillet and to a cooling rack.
Notes
*Chili oil with finely crushed chili flakes are more likely to burn before the focaccia is done.
