Gluten-Free Sourdough Focaccia (Lectin-Free)

This lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough focaccia is one of the easiest types of bread you can make with your lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough starter. It’s super tasty, fluffy, and soft, and the best part is you can eat it straight after you bake it (which is not the case with a loaf).

If you are new to lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough baking, the first thing you need to know is that to make any sourdough bread, you first need to make a sourdough starter. I have previously shared how to make a lectin-free sourdough starter and bread. You can find all the details in my previous posts:

• Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter With Millet, Teff, and Sorghum Flour (Lectin-Free)
• Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread Recipe With Sorghum and Millet

If you don’t know what lectins are and which are the gluten-free flours that are also lectin-free, I recommend this article:

• Quick Guide to Lectin-Free, Gluten-Free Flours

How is making focaccia different than making bread?

I have good news if you are already familiar with my method of making sourdough bread. Making this focaccia is easier than making bread. These are the differences:

1. The preferment for focaccia is double (150 grams compared to 75 grams for bread)
2. The hydration is higher (we will use more water than we use for the bread)
3. The amount of extra virgin olive oil is higher and it’s added at a different stage
4. The bulk fermentation is short (about 30 minutes)
5. The shaping and proofing are done in a baking pan (see below details)
6. We are using a damp towel to cover the pan for proofing
7. Focaccia bakes in 25 minutes
8. Compared to the sourdough boule, focaccia only needs to rest for 10-15 minutes. Then you can slice it and eat it.

The perfect pan for focaccia

I imagine everyone has their own set of baking pans. I don’t use non-stick pans and only have stainless steel, stoneware, and ceramic but for this focaccia, I love my All-Clad pan, which I think is perfect; however, I’m not sure if All-Clad still makes these stainless steel pans.

The dimensions of my pan are 33cm x 23cm (13inch x 9inch), and it’s perfect for this quantity of dough. Stoneware and glass will work too, and if you don’t have one that is so big, try using two smaller pans or half the amount of dough.

Whatever you use, make sure you generously grease the pan with extra virgin olive oil. The release from my pan is not super easy, but if I cut the portions and then carefully use a spatula, I can remove all the slices without them sticking to the pan. It takes a little bit of patience.

What flours do I use for lectin-free sourdough focaccia?

The original recipe is made with equal quantities of millet and sorghum flour. So the recipe below is for this mix. But since I made the first recipe, I tried it with equal quantities of teff, millet, and sorghum flours, and it was perfect.

My friend Kristi, who is testing my recipes, made it with only sorghum flour and it worked. The taste and color will be a bit different depending on the flours you use, but the process is pretty much the same.

NOTE: If you use teff flour in the mix, consider adding extra 20 grams of water to the wet mix as teff tends to absorb more water. Do not add extra water to the preferment. The only thing that will change in the preferment is the flour mix. If you make focaccia with teff + millet + sorghum mix, then the flour you will use for the preferment will be the same mix.

Like with the other bread recipes, the preferment will be made the night before, if you bake in the morning. And the flours you are using for the preferment will be the flours you are using in the recipe.

Making Focaccia: Video

I made this video for my Instagram for those who are more visual. You can see in this video how fluffy this focaccia is.

Ingredients for lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough focaccia

Just a reminder: you will find a shopping list with ingredients and tools needed to make sourdough bread on my SHOP Page, under the Project Sourdough category.

FOR THE PREFERMENT (make the night before):

• 20 grams unfed starter (using the starter you fed earlier in the day)
• 60 grams of water (spring, filtered, non-chlorinated)
• 70 grams of flour mix (equal quantities of sorghum and millet OR a mix of equal quantities of the flours you are using in the recipe)

THE WET MIX:

• 17 grams psyllium husk flakes (not powder)
• 440 grams of water (spring, filtered or bottled, but don’t use reverse osmosis water)
• 10 grams organic, raw honey, preferably local
• 150 grams sorghum + millet preferment (made the night before)

Note: If you decide to use teff flour, add some extra 20 grams of water as teff tends to absorb more water

THE DRY MIX:

• 230 grams flour (115g sorghum + 115 millet)
• 70 grams starch (tapioca flour)
• 6 grams non-iodized good quality fine salt

EXTRA:

• 10 grams of extra virgin olive oil

FOR TOPPING:

• a small handful of sliced kalamata olives
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves separated
• sea salt flakes

Note: You can get creative with toppings.

How to make lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough focaccia

MAKE THE PREFERMENT:

• Mix all the ingredients the night before (you will prepare the dough in the morning)

THE MIXING METHOD:

• Combine the water, psyllium husk flakes, and honey in a glass or plastic bowl. Mix well and set aside. Once the psyllium husks absorb the water, this mixture will have a jelly-like texture (it needs about 5 minutes).
• In the meantime, mix all the dry ingredients in a glass bowl.
• Now add the preferment to the psyllium husk jelly. Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon.
• Add the preferment jelly mixture to the dry ingredients bowl, incorporate as muchit’spossible with a spatula or wooden spoon, then start mixing with your hand. Mix well until the dough is homogeneous and has no lumps. The dough is soft and sticky.
• Now you can start mixing with the silicone or plastic dough scraper, scraping the dough from the sides of the bowl, and folding it into the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat with the same movement for about 1 minute.
• Cover the bowl with a plastic cover and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, add the olive oil, mix with the hands so the oil is well incorporated, then repeat the folding using the plastic scraper.
• Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap, then put it in a plastic bag, tight it and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, prepare a deep pan by greasing it with olive oil. The dimensions of my pan are 33cm x 23cm (13inch x 9inch) and it’s the perfect size for this quantity of dough.
• After 30 minutes, transfer the dough to the pan, drizzle a little olive oil, and gently spread it out with your fingers to cover the entire pan in an even layer. Cover the pan with a damp towel, put everything in a plastic bag, tight it and let it proof/ferment for about 1h 30 minutes on the counter (this timing works for a temperature of about 72F)
• Preheat the oven to 240C/465F for at least 40 minutes before baking.
• Prepare the olives, rosemary, and sea salt flakes.
• When the time is up, remove the pan from the bag, place the olives on top and press them down into the dough. Sprinkle the rosemary and sea salt flakes. Put the focaccia in the oven, and turn the heat down to 230C/450F. Bake for 25 minutes. The top should feel settled and golden brown.
• After removing the pan from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, then you can cut it into squares. Depending on what pan you are using, the release from the bottom might seem difficult, so gently lift each square with a spatula. The bottom should not be burnt, and the bread should not stick to the pan.

NOTE on proofing times: The timings here work for a room temperature of about 72F/22C. You can also proof this dough in the fridge. The lower the temperature the more time it will take. If it’s hotter in your home, it might take less. It’s hard in this case to see how much the dough is rising. One way to check it: when you poke the dough after it has been proofing, it should feel like it has almost doubled (about 70%).

How to store and use gluten-free focaccia bread

Compared to the lectin-free sourdough bread, focaccia is softer, fluffier, and doesn’t have a thick crust.

You can eat it immediately after you bake it (give it 10-15 minutes to breathe before you cut it) and it’s perfectly fluffy all day. Once completely cold, store it in a paper bag, which you can keep in a plastic bag. The next day it will lose some of the fluffiness, but if you toast it, will be like freshly baked.

At this point, if you are not able to finish it, you can freeze it or make croutons. You can thaw the frozen focaccia in the toaster (or oven).

Use the normal way focaccia would be used:

• to dip into your favorite extra virgin olive oil (or add some aged Modena balsamic into the mix)
• to replace bread if you can’t imagine a meal without bread
• to make sandwiches, fresh or grilled; it even works as a burger bun (slice in half)
• to make lectin-free, gluten-free croutons

If you prefer a thicker slice

Focaccia can have different thicknesses, depending on preferences. If you make this same quantity in a smaller baking tray (I used an 8×8 inch one), you will get a thicker focaccia. It needs about 10 more minutes of baking. I personally prefer the thinner slice, as I’m more of a crust person.

If you make this lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough focaccia, please share your experience:

• in the comment section below
• on Instagram
• on Facebook

Enjoy!

*This post contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.

Print Recipe

Gluten-Free Sourdough Focaccia (Lectin-Free)

(5 votes, average: 4.80 out of 5)

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By Claudia Curici – Serves: 12

Prep Time: 30 minutes – Cooking Time: 25 minutes

This lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough focaccia is one of the easiest types of bread you can make with your lectin-free and gluten-free sourdough starter. It's super tasty, fluffy, and soft, and the best part is you can eat it straight after you bake it (which is not the case with a loaf).

Ingredients

• FOR THE PREFERMENT (make the night before):
• 20 grams unfed starter (using the starter you fed earlier in the day)
• 60 grams of water (spring, filtered, non-chlorinated)
• 70 grams of flour mix (equal quantities of sorghum and millet)
• THE WET MIX:
• 17 grams psyllium husk flakes (not powder)
• 440 grams of water (spring, filtered, bottled, NO chlorine, NO tap, and don't use reverse osmosis water)
• 10 grams organic, raw honey, preferably local
• 150 grams sorghum + millet preferment (made the night before)
• THE DRY MIX:
• 230 grams flour (115g sorghum + 115 millet)
• 70 grams starch (tapioca flour)
• 6 grams non-iodized good quality fine salt
• EXTRA:
• 10 grams of extra virgin olive oil
• FOR TOPPING:
• a small handful of sliced kalamata olives
• 2 rosemary sprigs, leaves separated
• sea salt flakes

Instructions

1

MAKE THE PREFERMENT:

2

Mix all the ingredients the night before (you will prepare the dough in the morning)

3

THE MIXING METHOD:

4

In a glass or plastic bowl, combine the water, psyllium husk flakes, and honey. Mix well and set aside. Once the psyllium husks absorb the water, this mixture will have a jelly-like texture (it needs about 5 minutes).

5

In the meantime, mix all the dry ingredients in a glass bowl.

6

Now add the preferment to the psyllium husk jelly. Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon.

7

Add the preferment jelly mixture to the dry ingredients bowl, incorporate as much as possible with a spatula or wooden spoon, then start mixing with your hand. Mix well until the dough is homogeneous and has no lumps. The dough is soft and sticky.

8

Now you can start mixing with the silicone or plastic dough scraper, scraping the dough from the sides of the bowl, and folding it into the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat with the same movement, for about 1 minute.

9

Cover the bowl with a plastic cover and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

10

After 10 minutes, add the olive oil, mix with the hands so the oil is well incorporated, then repeat the folding using the plastic scraper.

11

Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap, then put the bowl in a plastic bag, tight it and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

12

In the meantime, prepare a deep pan, by greasing it with olive oil. The dimensions of my pan are 33cm x 23cm (13inch x 9inch) and it’s the perfect size for this quantity of dough.

13

After 30 minutes, transfer the dough to the pan, drizzle a little bit of olive oil, and gently spread it out with your fingers to cover the entire pan in an even layer. Cover the pan with a damp towel, put everything in a plastic bag, tight it and let it proof/ferment for about 1h 30 minutes on the counter (this timing works for a temperature of about 72F)

14

Preheat the oven to 240C/465F for at least 40 minutes before baking.

15

Prepare the olives, rosemary, and sea salt flakes.

16

When the time is up, remove the pan out of the bag, place the olives on top and press them down into the dough. Sprinkle the rosemary and sea salt flakes. Put the focaccia in the oven, and turn the heat down to 230C/450F. Bake for 25 minutes. The top should feel settled and golden brown.

17

After removing the pan from the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, then you can cut it into squares. Depending on what pan you are using, it might seem difficult the release from the bottom, so just gently lift each square with a spatula. The bottom should not be burnt and the bread should not stick to the pan.

18

Compared to the lectin-free sourdough bread, focaccia is softer, fluffier, and doesn't have a thick crust. You can eat it immediately after you bake it (give it 10-15 minutes to breathe before you cut it) and it's perfectly fluffy all day. Once completely cold, store it in a paper bag, which you can keep in a plastic bag. The next day it will lose some of the fluffiness, but if you toast it will be like freshly baked. You can also freeze it if you are not able to eat it in two days.

Notes

For more details please read the entire post.