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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:
- Chicken Florentine Soup
- Italian Pork Chops
- Pasta Carbonara
- Italian Tortellini Soup
- Sausage and Potatoes
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.
I wish the recipe time had specified there were an additional two hours for the dough to sit. I thought I started the recipe in time but turns out we were not able to eat it with out meal because this was not included in total time.
Thanks for the feedback!! That’s good to realize. Thanks for giving the bread recipe a try!
I love this bread, it comes out beautifully. Everyone in our family loves it and thinks I purchased it not made it myself.
Oh that makes me so happy to hear!! So glad the bread was a hit.
Started this at 7:30 this morning. 5 minute process with few ingredients, fridge n forget. 8 hours later and a couple more ingredients spices and olive oil another 5 minutes. Amazing, first time ever made or tasted focaccia bread. We loved it. Highly recommend. I will be making this very often. Thank you!
Way to go trying a new recipe! That’s so exciting. I’m glad you all loved the bread!
My daughter is 8, she is very interested in baking. We have done brioche many times given that’s her usual favorite. We found this and all I can say is thank you! How easy! 2 min to make the dough at night she can do it by herself and stick it in the fridge and forget it! Then 30 seconds putting oil in a pie plate, go pick the kids up from school when I get back she drizzles it with olive oil pokes the dimples in (her favorite part) and it’s done in 20 min! The flavor is amazing! Cheating hack we bought a truffle infused olive oil dipping oil already flavored. So easy. Every one loves it!
Oh I’m so happy to hear that your daughter is loving to bake at such a young age. And that this recipe has been a hit! Thanks for sharing!
So easy and so good. I let mine proof for about 6 hours and used oregano and rosemary…. it was amazing!
This was amazingly delicious and SO easy. I’ve been (irrationally) intimidated by yeast for years and this recipe was so simple that I couldn’t possibly screw it up. I love the idea of making pizza with it and definitely want to try that next.
This bread is absolutely AMAZING!!!! It’s super easy to make and has such a delicious taste and texture!
I have made this twice . Love it , but both times it has stuck to the pans . Any ideas on what i can do to avoid this or am i doing something wrong ?
So I always rub the bottom of the pan with olive oil. That usually does the job for me. But if you have tried that and it still sticks, you can do the olive oil in the bottom, then use parchment paper on top of that to line the base of the tray. And then add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and spread on top of that.
This was so good! Made it for NYE and it was gone quick! Will make again for sure, super easy, just a long process.
Thanks for sharing. I’m so glad to hear the bread was a hit!
loved this recipe. is there any reason I couldn’t bake it in a loaf pan instead?