Poolish: Mix the water and yeast. Add the flour, stirring until the flour is incorporated. The starter will be paste-like; it won't form a ball. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 10 to 14 hours. (This time frame can be manipulated by adjusting the amount of yeast.)

Herbal tea: Bring the water to a boil, turn off and immediately stir in the herbs. Let sit a minimum of 20 minutes.

Dough: Set aside about half of the herbs from the tea. Stir the remaining herbs and tea together with the poolish or the sourdough starter, then add remaining dough ingredients. Mix with a dough whisk then transfer to a floured board and knead. Keep your board un-sticky and work gently to make a dough that’s soft, smooth, and elastic on the outside, and sticky inside.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preparing the loaf: Line a 9” x 13” pan with parchment paper. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil atop the parchment paper and spread evenly.

Transfer the raised dough to the prepared pan and gently stretch it into the corners. If the dough doesn’t reach the edges of the pan, cover and let rest for 15 minutes before continuing to stretch it to fill the entire pan. Cover the pan and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the reserved chopped herbs on top of the dough. In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and hot water, stirring to dissolve. Brush all of this wash over the surface of the dough. Be generous with your application; it’s fine if some of the wash drips down the edges into the pan.

Use your fingers to make irregularly spaced dimples in the dough, pressing down firmly; your fingers should reach the bottom of the pan without actually breaking through the dough. Re-cover the dough and let it rise until it's noticeably puffy, about 45 to 60 minutes. The dough should have expanded, but shouldn't seem fragile nor look like it might collapse.

Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

Topping and baking: Use a fork to beat together the egg and water in a small bowl. Brush all of this onto the focaccia, then sprinkle with salt. The top of the dough will be quite wet but don’t worry—any excess moisture will bake off in the oven.

Bake the focaccia until the top is dark brown and the bottom is golden (you can use an offset spatula or fork to lift the bread to peek at the bottom), about 24 to 30 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and immediately transfer it from the pan to a cooling rack.

Brush the top of the warm focaccia with the melted butter.

About your fresh herbs: Your herb choices are quite flexible, depending upon what you like and what's available to you. If you’re using stronger-flavored herbs such as rosemary or sage, use much less. In late fall, before losing many of my herbs until spring, I like to make a large batch of tea with oregano, pineapple sage and lovage, and freeze it for my winter breads.