Easy Focaccia Recipe

What Is Focaccia?

Focaccia, pronounced foh-kah-chee-a is an Italian bread that can be made into a round, rectangle or square shape. It’s a leavened bread that you can enjoy as a side or a sandwich base.

Why This Recipe Works

• Easy: You don’t need to knead the dough and with a few sets of stretch and fold and rest you will have the most perfect focaccia every time.
• Simple Ingredients: Like many other bread recipes, focaccia calls for a handful of ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
• Customizable: Get creative and add all the toppings you like including rosemary and olives!

Ingredients To Make Focaccia

• Flour: You can use bread flour or all purpose flour. I don’t recommend using whole wheat flour to make this recipe.
• Yeast: I opt for instant yeast, but active dry works too. If using active dry, you need to bloom it in the water that’s used for the recipe.
• Water: Use water that’s a bit warm, but not hot. Hot water would kill the yeast and cold water won’t activate it.
• Salt: Coarse kosher sat works best in this recipe.
• Olive oil: You need a good amount of olive oil for the focaccia to get that famous crispy exterior.

How To Make Focaccia

1. Mix the ingredients: In a large bowl mix the bread flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil and water using your hands or a spatula. There is no need to knead the dough. It’s going to be sticky and that’s okay. Scrape the sides, cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
2. Stretch and fold: After 30 minutes, uncover the bowl, wet your hands and grab one side of the dough, stretch it and fold it onto the dough. rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Do this 2 more times so all sides of the dough are stretched and folded. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough sit for 15 minutes. Then repeat the stretch and fold again. Let it sit for another 15 minutes, do another set of stretch and fold. You will do a total of 3 sets of stretch and fold.
3. First dough rise: After the last stretch and dough, cover the bowl and let it rise for one hour.
4. Second dough rise: Cover the bottom of a 13×18 sheet pan with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet. Using both hands, flip the dough so it’s coated with olive oil on both sides. Cover with another baking sheet. Let the dough rise for one more hour.
5. Dimple and third rise: Uncover, drizzle with more olive oil and dimple the dough using your oiled fingers, making sure to gently spread it as well. Top with some coarse Kosher salt. Cover with another baking sheet and let it sit for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 440 degrees F.
6. Bake: Bake the focaccia in the oven for 25 minutes until it’s crispy and golden.

Variations

There are so many ways to jazz up focaccia and give it your own spin. Here are a few suggestions:

• Red onions and roasted garlic
• Green and black olives
• Sun-dried tomatoes and rosemary
• Cherry tomatoes and sage

Serving Suggestions

This classic Italian bread makes a great side for soups such as minestrone or red lentil soup. It also goes well with dishes such as Italian meatballs or balsamic chicken as well as vegetarian dishes such as ratatouille or caponata.

Storage

Store the bread in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze focaccia for up to 1 month. To freeze focaccia, wrap the bread pieces tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. To serve, thaw at room temperature or the oven.

Frequently Asked Question