Homemade Focaccia Bread
Focaccia. It’s just fun to say. Focaccia.
Homemade Focaccia is basically olive-oil bread, usually made savory with spices —traditionally rosemary — plus cheese, veggies and/or meat as toppings. It goes great as a side, cut up small as an appetizer or, when loaded with food stuff, a main course. This homemade recipe is really easy to follow and I think you’re going to love it.
Day-old focaccia can be split and used for sandwiches. It also goes great with soup. In other words, it is the utility infielder of breads, limited only by your imagination
Homemade Focaccia Bread
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A basic focaccia is flour, oil, yeast and water. Add a bit of rosemary and salt for flavor. The secret ingredient is time.
Focaccia dough is at its best when given a lot of rise time. Some bakers make their dough the night before and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator. I never seem to have an extra shelf in my fridge. So, I make my dough first thing in the morning and let it rise all day on my counter.
I use half bread flour and half all purpose flour. That’s because I like the density of bread flour. However, it is much more expensive than all purpose flour, so I mix both to cut costs a bit.
Ingredients Overview
Step-by-Step Instructions for making Homemade Focaccia Bread
In a separate container, activate the yeast by mixing it with one cup of warm water and the honey. It should begin to bubble in 5-10 minutes.
Mix the flour, 1½ tablespoons of salt and the remaining water. Add in the bubbly yeast solution. If I’d had a warmed sourdough starter ready to go, I would have used it instead.
Knead into a workable bread dough. I use my Ankarsrum mixer with a dough hook for this but feel free to knead by hand if you prefer.
If the dough seems too dry, add water, one tablespoon at a time. If it seems too moist and sticky, add flour, also one tablespoon at a time.
Put half of the oil in a bowl.
Transfer your dough ball into the oil and generously coat the dough with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for 3-4 hours, longer if possible.
After several hours the dough should double in size. Split it in half and flatten each half on a parchment lined or oiled 9×12 baking sheet or a dish like we used.
Stab each piece of flattened dough generously with a fork, to create a dimpled surface.
Brush one tablespoon of olive oil over each flattened loaf. Sprinkle with the remaining salt, dried rosemary and any other spices that you might want to try.
Top the dough with a few fresh rosemary sprigs if you have them.
Set each pan aside for about an hour for a second rise.
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
The dough should bake in about 15-20 min at 425 F. Check the oven after ten minutes to make sure the top isn’t getting too dark. If it seems on the verge of burning, move the loaf to a lower shelf and/or lower the temperature. I recommend no lower than 350 F to ensure a proper bake.
When the focaccia is golden brown on the top, remove and let cool on a cooling rack.
Notes
In truth, Focaccia is best eaten fresh. You can store it for a day or two in an airtight container, but it does go stale quickly.
I recently forgot about some focaccia we had in a container in my fridge. To revive it, I coated it with oil, put some cheese and tomato on top and popped it in the oven at 350 F for a few minutes. It was a bit chewy, but tasted great.
Focaccia
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour All purpose or bread flour. I use half and half if I have both handy
- 2 cups water
- 2 teaspoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey Substitute sugar if need be.
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tsp coarse salt, such as sea salt or kosher salt. Divided, 1½ teaspoons and ½ teaspoon.
- ¼ cup dried rosemary
Instructions
- In a separate container, activate the yeast by mixing it with one cup of warm water and the honey. It should begin to bubble in 5-10 minutes.2 teaspoon yeast, 1 teaspoon honey, 2 cups water
- Mix the flour, 1½ tablespoons of salt and the remaining water. Add in the bubbly yeast solution. Knead into a workable bread dough. Sometimes I use my mixer with a dough hook for this, but sometimesI knead by hand.4 cups flour, 2 tsp coarse salt, such as sea salt or kosher salt., 2 cups water
- If the dough seems too dry, add water, one tbsp at a time. If it seems too moist and sticky, add flour one tbsp at a time.
- Put half of the oil in a bowl. Transfer your dough ball into the oil and generously coat the dough with oil.¼ cup olive oil
- Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for 3-4 hours, longer if possible.
- After several hours the dough should about double in size, split it in half and flatten each half on a parchment lined or oiled 9×12 baking sheet. Stab each piece of flattened dough generously with a fork, to create a dimpled surface. Brush one tbsp of oil over each flattened loaf. Sprinkle with the remaining salt, dried rosemary and any other spices that you might want to try.¼ cup dried rosemary, 2 tsp coarse salt, such as sea salt or kosher salt.
- Set each pan aside for about an hour for a second rise.
- Preheat the over to 425℉
- Top the dough with a few fresh rosemary sprigs if you have them. The dough should bake in about 15-20 min at 425℉. Check the the oven after ten minutes to make sure the top isn't getting too dark. If it seems on the verge of burning, move the loaf to a lower shelf and/or lower the temperature. I recommend no lower than 350℉.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that nutrient values, if included with the recipe, are estimates only. Variations can occur due to product availability/substitution and manner of food preparation. Nutrition may vary based on methods of origin, preparation, freshness of ingredients, and other factors.