Hands dimpling sourdough focaccia dough on a flour-dusted wooden surface

Ariko · Founder

Two traditions,
one loaf.

A focaccia born in Puglia, raised in London, listening to Tokyo.

The year in Italy

I went south for the bread.

I spent a year in Italy studying its cuisine — not in restaurants, but in kitchens, on farms, beside ovens older than me. Puglia is where I learned focaccia. The soft crumb, the puddles of olive oil, the salt that crackles on top. I still bake the way they taught me.

Glowing embers inside a traditional Puglian wood-fired stone bread oven

Active sourdough starter in a glass jar, full of bubbles

ii.

100% sourdough · 36 hours

No yeast.
No shortcuts.

Every focaccia we sell is leavened with a sourdough culture I started years ago and feed every morning. It takes 36 hours from flour to loaf. The flavour is deeper. The crumb is more honest. The dough tells me when it is ready, not the clock.

36h

Total ferment

Commercial yeast

Pair of hands

iii.

The quieter voice

Then Japan called.

The flavours I grew up with — miso, sesame, yakiimo on a winter afternoon — turned out to be patient travellers. They love long ferments. They love olive oil. They love a sea-salted crust. So I started experimenting.