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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.
My Italian Fiance LOVED this! He told me how “focaccia was really hard to master”… Thanks to this recipe – I did it the first try! It was too much basil and oregano and salt but it was easy to scrape off and turned out AMAZING! THANK YOU!!!
You are so welcome!! Thank you for trying it & for letting me know! Happy you both liked it!
I’ve made this focaccia bread about 10 times now – it is SO EASY & ALWAYS a hit! Thank you for sharing!
Glad to share 🙂 I am so happy it’s always a hit! Thank you!!
I love this recipe! It is so easy!! My family loves the bread so much. So much better than store bought bread
I am so glad you do! Thank you for letting me know what you thought!
I am going to make this and include sun dried tomatoes. If I sprinkletoppings before pressing down the dough, hoping that will get some of THE toppings deep INto the bread
Sun dried tomatoes would be good! Hope you like it!
The beSt! I tried numerous focACcia recipes and keep coming back to this one. Appreciate your posting it for others to enjoy. It is now my Go to! Will be checking out your other recipes.
Yay!! I hope you like other ones you try! Thank you!
I am looking to double the match amd was wondering if i need to make in two separate bowls or if i can make in one and divide into two at some point in the recipe. Thank you!
You should be fine making it in one & dividing it 🙂
This was my first time baking bread and it was much easier than I anticipated it to be. It is also so nice to look it, very presentable. absolutely delicious. Tasted a lot like a deep dish pizza crust haha. My three year old and husband ate it up at dinner! Thank you!
Yay! Love to hear that! Thank you for letting me know 😉
I Am about to make the Dough but i dont have all the spice availabLe can i use Italian Seasoning instead???
You sure could 😉
Loved this bread! Its so easy to make and it turns out so Soft and fluffy. I topped it eith dried oregano, Garlic and onion powder aS well as fresh Minced garlic. Tastes delicious with butter or cream cheese and by itself. Really happy With this recipe and i will be making it again for friends and family.
Sounds delicious! Wish I had a load made! Thanks for sharing that!
I have made this bread twice now. The trick seemed to be in mixing the dough while pouring in the WATER so that the dough forms nicely. I let it rest in the fridge for 8 hours and baked it for 23 minutes! If you WOULD like the bread a little less oily…pour out the excess olive oil immediately after you remove the bread from the oven. It tasted fantastic!