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This whole wheat and khorasan focaccia is my fresh-milled twist on a long-fermented, olive-oil-rich classic. The blend of whole wheat and khorasan flour brings a naturally sweet, nutty, buttery flavour, along with the added nutrition and depth that only whole grains provide. I use a slightly higher hydration to balance the extra bran – sifting out a portion to prevent heaviness – which keeps the crumb wonderfully open, soft, and pillowy. After a slow, flavour-building ferment, it bakes into a golden, crisp-edged slab with a tender, cloud-like interior.

This method takes inspiration from Nicola Lamb’s brilliant 3-Day Focaccia, adapted here with fresh-milled flour in mind, alongside tweaks to hydration and process to bring out the full character of whole grains.

What makes focaccia so special?

Focaccia is a wonderful Italian flatbread, characterised by its light, airy interior and golden, crisp exterior. Made with olive oil and proofed until beautifully puffy, the fun part comes when you dimple the dough with your fingertips and scatter toppings to your liking (usually seasonings or herbs) before baking. It’s a versatile bread: perfect as a side to dinner, a rich base for sandwiches, or cut into small pieces to serve alongside creamy burrata or dips. The best part? You can really make focaccia your own: bake it in a circular cake pan, use it as your sandwich bread, try out a deep-dish version, or even turn it into a pizza.

Making focaccia is surprisingly simple, though it does require time and patience. There are plenty of recipes to suit your schedule: same-day focaccias can look similar to ones fermented over three days. That said, I personally love taking the three-day route – it really makes the bread shine and creates the perfect conditions for using wholegrain flour.

Why focaccia is a great bread for highlight your whole grains:

Thanks to its high hydration, minimal yeast, and long fermentation, focaccia is an ideal canvas for whole grains. The dough’s structure and extended proofing allow wholegrain flours to absorb water fully, develop flavour, and yield a rustic, deeply delicious bread that’s tender, airy, and utterly satisfying.

Tools I love for focaccia making:

This focaccia requires no heavy duty equipment of mixers, time and good ingredients are at the heart of this recipe. That said, there are a few handy tools to make this process smoother and more enjoyable. These are my go-to’s for making focaccia stress-free at home:

Trays:

• I love the retro look of these enamel trays for making focaccia, and I feel like they elevate the presentation of the bake in a way that regular metal sheet trays could never. Get the 25x30cm tray for this recipe, and use it for baking cookies, tray bakes and even for a slab pie: Handcrafted vintage enamel tray.
• Quarter sheet trays and matching cooling racks are a must-have in your kitchen, and a perfect fit for this focaccia recipe. I love this set from one of my favourite baking brands: Nordic Ware quarter sheet with cooling rack.

Mixing bowls:

• I cannot emphasise this enough! Instead of covering your dough with plastic wrap or tea towels during bulk proofing, I use these large Pyrex bowls with lids – they make proofing clean, easy, and hassle-free.

Mill and Sifter

• After spending hours deliberating over different brands and levels of home-sized mills, I decided on the Mockmill 100. It can mill 100g of wheat per minute, and operate for about 25 minutes before needing to cool down, and I’ve been so happy with it, using it almost everyday. If you’re in the market for a home mill, I can’t recommend this one enough! I bought mine from You Knead Sourdough and it arrived swiftly.
• In this recipe, I ask you to sift the whole wheat flour after milling. Sifting simply means passing the flour through a sieve to separate out the bran. You can save the bran for other baking projects, like bran muffins, or discard it. I recommend using a fine-mesh strainer for this step, such as the Billord Stainless Steel Strainer.

Whole Wheat and Khorasan Focaccia

A whole wheat and khorasan focaccia made with a high hydration dough for a light, open crumb and incredible wholegrain flavour. Slow-fermented over 3 days for depth of flavour and ultimate airiness, it bakes golden with crisp edges. You can substitute the khorasan flour for spelt or einkorn, and if you don't have a mill, no problem! Just use the best wholegrain flour you can get your hands on. This is a wholesome twist on a classic focaccia inspired by Nicola Lamb’s 3-Day Focaccia method.

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Prep Time 3 days d

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Poolish

• 110 g whole wheat flour
• 120 g water
• pinch of dried yeast

Focaccia Dough

• 250 g whole wheat flour, sifted to remove the bran
• 300 g khorasan wheat flour, unsifted you can substitute for spelt or einkorn
• 400 g water (1)
• 50 g water (2)
• 1/2 tsp dried yeast
• 13 g salt
• 150 g olive oil
• flaky sea salt to finish

Method

 

1. If you are milling your flour fresh, mill 380g whole wheat flour. You are going to save 110g for the poolish, and then sift the rest of the whole wheat flour to get 250g. You can use the leftover bran in muffins or breakfast cereal.

   Also, go ahead and mill your 300g of khorasan, spelt or einkorn grain, and leave it unsifted. Set aside the khorasan and sifted whole wheat to use tomorrow.

Day 1: Poolish

1. Preferably in the evening, mix the unsifted whole wheat flour, water and pinch of dried yeast together in a large bowl (this bowl you will use to mix the dough in tomorrow). Allow to sit, covered, at room temperature overnight.

Day 2: Mixing the Dough

1. In the bowl of the poolish, add the flours, water (1) and yeast and mix until a rough dough forms. Cover, and rest for 45 minutes to autolyse.
2. Add the salt and water (2) to the bowl, and mix using your hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
3. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the dough and lightly oil your hands while you're at it, then fold the dough 4-6 times by stretching its sides onto itself, rotating the bowl as you do so. Cover and rest for 45 minutes.
4. Add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil, and fold again. Cover and rest for 45 minutes. This is your second fold.
5. Again, add a couple more tablespoons of olive oil, and fold again. Cover and rest for 45 minutes. This is your third fold.
6. Finally, do you fourth and final fold, checking how the gluten has developed as you do so. If it feels strong and you can make a windowpane from stretching a piece of dough, then you're ready to put it to rest for the night. If not, then rest another 30 minutes and do one more fold. Transfer the dough to an large oiled bowl or container (the dough will grow more!), and let it rest overnight in the fridge.

Day 3: Proofing and Baking

1. The next day, transfer your dough onto a well oiled quarter-sheet tray. Gently push out the dough to help it relax evenly. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and leave to rest for 1 to 1.5 hours.
2. Oil your hands, and dimple the top of the dough, while pushing it into the edges of the tray and evening out the surface. Allow to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 230℃/475℉. If you're dough is jiggly and air bubbles are forming, then its ready to bake. If not, let it continue proofing for another 15-30 minutes. Oil your hands, and dimple deep into the dough. Drizzle on just a little more olive oil, and scatter with lots of flaky sea salt.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 220℃/425℉, rotate the focaccia, and bake for another 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the sheet tray while still hot, to avoid it sticking, and allow to cool.

Notes

This recipe was inspired by Nicola Lamb’s 3-Day Focaccia. I’ve adapted the method for fresh-milled flour, increasing the hydration and adjusting the process to accommodate for whole-grain’s tendency to ferment faster, and also to highlight the flavour and structure of whole grains. If you love the original, you’ll enjoy this whole-grain variation just as much.