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Baking recipe · from the recipe book

Oat Porridge Spelt Sourdough Focaccia

A nutty, gently tangy round focaccia with a custardy oat-studded crumb and a crisp, olive-oil-fried bottom and top.

Oat Porridge Spelt Sourdough Focaccia

Ingredients

  • 14 oz400 gWhole spelt flour
  • ¾ cup100 gBread flour
  • 1⅔ cups400 gWaterdivided: 100 g boiling for the oats, 300 g lukewarm for the dough
  • 3½ oz100 gActive sourdough starter (100% hydration)fed and at its peak
  • ¾ cup70 gOld-fashioned rolled oatsdivided: 55 g for the porridge, 15 g for the top
  • 3½ tbsp45 gOlive oildivided: 15 g for the dough, 30 g for the pot and top
  • 1¾ tsp10 gSaltdivided: 9 g for the dough, 1 g flaky for the top

Steps

  1. Day 1, about 8 a.m.: feed your sourdough starter and leave it at about 75°F (24°C) for 4 to 6 hours, until doubled, domed and bubbly; this is its peak.
  2. About 1 hour before the starter peaks, make the porridge: pour the boiling portion of the water (100 g) over the porridge portion of the oats (55 g), stir and let cool to lukewarm.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the whole spelt flour and the bread flour with the lukewarm portion of the water (300 g) until no dry patches remain. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
  4. Add the peaked sourdough starter, the dough portion of the salt (9 g) and the dough portion of the olive oil (15 g); squeeze and fold until smooth. Then work in the cooled oat porridge until evenly spread. The dough is about 80% hydration and 1.8% salt, counting what the starter contributes and the porridge water.
  5. Bulk rise at about 75°F (24°C) for 4 to 5 hours. During the first 2 hours, do 4 sets of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes with wet hands; spelt dough is delicate, so stretch gently. Bulk is done when the dough has grown about 50%, looks airy and jiggles.
  6. Shaping: pour half of the pot-and-top portion of the olive oil (15 g) into a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven and coat the bottom and sides. Fold the dough into a loose round and set it seam-side down in the oiled pot, turning once to coat.
  7. Cover the pot and cold proof in the fridge overnight, 12 to 16 hours.
  8. Day 2: take the pot out and let the dough proof at about 75°F (24°C) for 2 to 3 hours, until it has spread to the edges, looks puffy and springs back slowly when poked.
  9. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with a rack in the lower third.
  10. Drizzle the remaining half of the pot-and-top olive oil (15 g) over the dough. With oiled fingers, press deep dimples all over, reaching the bottom of the pot.
  11. Scatter the topping portion of the oats (15 g) and the flaky topping portion of the salt (1 g) over the dimpled dough.
  12. Bake the Dutch oven uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until deep golden, the oats are toasted and the center reads 205°F (96°C).
  13. Loosen the focaccia with a spatula, lift it onto a rack and cool at least 30 minutes so the bottom stays crisp, then cut into 12 slices.

Food safety: Don't taste raw dough or batter: raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs.

Contains: Gluten.

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Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

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