To a bowl, add water, yeast and sugar. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
Once foamy, add flour, mix well, cover, and let it sit for one hour to hydrate and for the gluten to begin to develop.
After one hour, add the salt in and mix well. Stretch and fold the dough onto itself about 20 times.
Cover the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough four times around. Do this every 30 minutes for a total of three times.
At this point, you can cover the dough and refrigerated overnight or place the dough in a 9 x 13 metal baking dish lined with parchment paper. Add a generous amount of oil onto the parchment paper. Dump the dough onto the parchment paper. Grabbing one end, fold it over onto itself on each side and flip it over to reveal the smooth side. Cover the dough and let it rise in the pan until doubled in size. If the dough has not filled out the pan gently stretch it.
If refrigerating overnight, follow the same process of placing the dough in an oiled baking pan and letting it rise until doubled in size. This process may take a little longer because the dough is cold. FYI, A cold ferment overnight develops more flavor.
After it has doubled in size, oil your fingers and dimple the dough. At this point you can add any toppings you like. In this video I added olives and Himalayan pink salt. Drizzle with more olive oil on top. This type of bread takes a lot of olive oil, so don't be afraid to be generous!
Place the focaccia on the lowest rack of your oven. Bake the focaccia at 450°F for 25 to 30 minutes. You want to achieve a nice golden brown on top. The time may vary based on your oven.
After baking, placed on a wire rack to cool to ensure that the bottom crust stays crispy.