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Crisp yet fluffy bread topped with delicious herbs and seasonings. This flavorful focaccia bread is so easy to make, and is perfect for sandwiches, dipping in soups, or enjoying on its own!
Everyone loves homemade bread, and although classic bread is must-have, this Focaccia bread is too! Change it up based on the seasonings and toppings you add and get ready to fall in love.
What is focaccia bread?
Hello again! It’s Alicia from The Baker Upstairs, and I have another delicious bread recipe to share with you!
If you’ve never had it before, Focaccia is a flat Italian yeast bread. It’s the perfect accompaniment for soups, salads, or pasta, and it tastes totally amazing!
This homemade focaccia bread tastes just as delicious as bread from a bakery, but it’s so easy to make at home. If you’re hesitant about baking with yeast, this is a great recipe to start with! There’s no kneading at all, and the dough is easy to mix together without a mixer.
It does need to sit in the fridge for a while (at least eight hours) so you will need to plan ahead a little when you’re making it, but it has very little hands-on time. It’s so easy to make that you will feel like a culinary magician!
How to Make Focaccia Bread
DOUGH. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the warm water, and stir to form a soft and sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
CHILL, SHAPE + REST. After the dough has chilled, gently shape the dough into a ball with your hands. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan and spread it to cover the interior surfaces of the pan.
Place the ball of dough in the center of the pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, or until the dough has expanded to nearly fill the cake pan.
BREAD TOP. Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 450. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dough, then press your fingers down into the dough, pushing to the bottom of the pan.
BAKE. Repeat until the entire surface of the dough is covered in deep dimples. Sprinkle with the oregano, basil and sea salt. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
RECIPE tips + NOTES
Letting the dough rest in the fridge for at least eight hours is really important, so definitely don’t try to shorten the time or skip that step. The long resting time helps the dough develop air bubbles, and improves the texture of the finished bread.
NOTE: You can leave the dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours, so you can bake it when it’s convenient for you.
STORING: You can leave the bread, covered with plastic wrap at room temp for 2 days. You can also wrap and keep in the fridge for up to a week. To reheat, baking in the oven for 10 minutes at 325.
FREEZING. We like to wrap the bread in plastic wrap and then in a freezer-safe storage bag. This can be stored for up 4-6 weeks in the freezer.
Switch It Up
OTHER HERBS/TOPPINGS: Put any of these on top of the bread before baking for even more amazing flavor!
- Rosemary
- Fresh or roasted garlic
- Olive slices
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- shredded cheese (parmesan would probably work best!)
DIFFERENT WAYS TO SERVE: Eating a slice of this bread plain is more than enough to satisfy, but you can use it in a lot of other ways!
- Dip in soup.
- Make a focaccia pizza. After the bread is fully baked, pull it out of the oven, top with sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni, then bake at the oven at 375° until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Create a sandwich! Just slice the bread in half, and fill with your favorite sandwich fixings. I love flavored bread for sandwiches!
- You could also use leftovers to make homemade croutons! They would taste amazing on top of a caesar salad.
You really can’t beat a slice of this focaccia bread, warm from the oven. The edges are perfectly crisp, while the middle is light and tender and airy. This bread is so delicious!
What to serve Focaccia With:
For more homemade bread, try:
Focaccia Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt I used Maldon salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the warm water, and stir to form a soft and sticky dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- After the dough has chilled, gently shape the dough into a ball with your hands. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan and spread it to cover the interior surfaces of the pan. Place the ball of dough in the center of the pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, or until the dough has expanded to nearly fill the cake pan.
- Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 450. Remove the plastic wrap from the pan. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dough, then press your fingers down into the dough, pushing to the bottom of the pan. Repeat until the entire surface of the dough is covered in deep dimples. Sprinkle with the oregano, basil and sea salt.
- Bake 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi there,
A friend shared this recipe with me and I made it for our Easter brunch with family. I did two. One with rosemary, thyme, garlic and sea salt and one with basil, cherry tomatoes and Parmesan.
WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS!!!
I love to bake but don’t do bread much but this was super easy. It took a bit of planning to get it ready for the fridge the day before the event but it was easy. Recipe was easy to follow and very cost effective to make it
It turned out perfectly and I was so excited.
I paired it up with a garlic and herb cream cheese spread which complimented it well but eating it by itself was more than enough. The whole lot was eaten before the end of brunch.
Th am you for this.
Hi, your recipe looks very delicious and simple, but I was wondering….. can I use a 9 inch cake pan instead of 8 inch??
Yes you can. The bigger pan you use, the thinner the bread will be. I actually use a quarter sheet pan because I like a thinner focaccia.
I have active dry yeast. Will that work or does it have to be instant yeast?
Yep! That will still work.
Do you have to proof the active dry yeast?
Can you use a stand up mixer with dough hook instead of my hands? My hands really hurt at times to where I can’t use my hands.
You probably could, but this dough doesn’t have to be kneaded quite like a typical bread recipe does. So mixing together with a wooden spoon or danish dough hook by hand a few times is all that is really necessary. But yes, I think you could try mixing with a stand mixer if needed.
Excellent recipe and flavourful lots if aur bubbles My oven a little hotter I think. I baked for 22 minutes but will reduce time maybe to 20 next time. Shook a little ground rosemary in top as well as salt and some bits of fresh garlic
Yummy!! That sounds amazing! So glad you enjoyed the focaccia!
Easy and flavorful! Will be making this frequently.
So glad to hear that!
I make this for my granddaughter all the time. She loves it but we usually have trouble getting it out of the pan. After baking how long before you remove it from the pan?
Thanks
Lynn
I usually wait 5 -10 minutes. Then I let it keep cooling after it’s out of the pan.
So I have not been successful in bread making at all. I tried this recipe lastnight for me and my boyfriend for our pasta meal. WE LOVED IT. The instructions were easy to follow as well. We sat down for dinner, he said it looked amazing and I cut the bread into 8 slices. He ate 4 pieces with our dinner before he even got to the pasta. He absolutely loved it and I did as well. He Said it was the best bread he’s ever had and it was all because of your recipe. This is the foccacia recipe I’m sticking with. It turned out wonderful!!! I am definitely making this again and again. I let it sit in the fridge for 8 hours instead of the 24 and it was excellent. Thank you so much
Oh this makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try. So happy to hear you were successful with your bread making!