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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.
This was PHENOMENAL!!! Im Sooo glad i gave it a try. It was my first time making bread of anY kind and wow! Just wow! Followed it step By step and we were droOling. Thank you!
Yay!! Love to hear that! Happy you tried it! Thank you!
Hey! i have a question, i let my dough chill for about 12 hours in the fridge and when i took it out it had risen more than i anticipated. then, it was insanely sticky and not really firm enough to be in a ball, more of a melty disk? any ideas for my predicament? It is doing the two hour rest right now, so we will see how it turns out
Hello! This recipe is from a contributor, Alicia at http://www.thebakerupstairs.com/. I would suggest leaving her a comment for this recipe, since she is familiar with it. Hope she can help you!
I’ve been making this every week for the past month – each time, it’s perfect and so yummy! Thank you.
You are welcome!! I am so glad you make it often! Thanks!
I love this recipe! I have made it four tImes now. It always turns out delicious. i do havE a question though, i feel like i follow INSTRUCTIONS exactly but my ball is always much mOre wet for the second rise. It is also mushy when im putting my fingers through. I have experimented with all riSe times. I would love to have feedback of what i May be doing wrong? Thank you! Either way its always delicious
This recipe is from my contributor, Alicia at http://www.thebakerupstairs.com/. You may want to leave her a question on her site. She’ll be able to answer you faster 🙂
This recipe is so easy and so good. Perfect every time! Perfect for tWo…
Glad you think so 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!
THIS IS THE EASIEST AND MOST DELICIOUS BREAD EVER! ANY AMATEUR BAKER CAN SUCCEED WITH THIS RECIPE. I MAKE IT VERY OFTEN, AND HAVE GOTTEN COMPLIMENTS AND REQUESTS FOR THE RECIPE EVERY SINGLE TIME I’VE SHARED IT WITH SOMEONE. THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF FLAVOR AND CRUNCH. WE LOVE TO USE IT FOR DIPPING IN SOUPS, OR USING IT FOR SANDWICHES.
Thank you for sharing the recipe with others! Glad it’s a hit!
I’ve made this recipe before and it turned out absolutely perfect and tasted so great. I now wanted to try making it for a friend who is gluten free – is it okay to just substitute the regular flour for gluten free flour?
Yes, it should be ok 🙂 I hope your friend likes it! Thank you!
this recipe was easy to make and the end result was excellent. I will be making this one over and over again. Thank you
Glad to hear that! Thank you for letting me know!
This recipe sounds like my kind of recipe—easy. I’ll be trying it real soon.
It is! I hope you like it!
Aaaaaaamazing! It turned out so good!
Oh, I am so glad! Thank you for letting me know!