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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 amazing and so super simple. I topped with basil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and grated parm. Will definitely make again and looking forward to playing around with toppings!!!
Mmmm that sounds so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Planning to try making bread. And I am happy that I find this recipe. I can’t wait to try this soon. Thank you for sharing this 🙂
You’re welcome! You’ll have to let us know how you like it.
Can and how do I use regular yeast in this recipe?
You can use either active or instant yeast for this recipe since the warm water will activate the yeast. I haven’t used other types of yeast besides active and instant for this recipe so I am not sure how it would turn out if you used a different type. I would love to know how it turns out!
Good morning. Love that you give the nutritional information but can you tell me what a serving size is on this bread? How many servings per loaf? Thank you
I just found the answer. Hubby is diabetic so we are very careful with portion control. Can’t wait to try this, thank you
Hope you like it!
Looks so yummy! Can I bake the bread in a sheet pan instead? And what size would be best? Can’t wait to bake this tomorrow!
Yay! I have never tried baking in a sheet pan, but you could certainly give it a try. I’d imagine as long as the pan is at least a half size baking sheet. You’ll have to let us know how it turns out!
A serving size would be one slice of bread and depending on how thick you cut your slices, the Focaccia Bread Recipe would give you roughly 10-12 slices. Hope this helps!
Oh my! The family inhaled this light and fluffy bread! My only suggestion is to DOUBLE it…. it’s soo good!
I agree!! Thank you so much!
Absolutely delicious. Can’t believe how easy this recipe is.
Thank you so much.
Glad you think so 🙂 Thank you!!
This recipe is absolutely perfect. Very easy to make, delicious to eat! I mix mine up after dinner and let it rise in the fridge overnight. Take it out the next day about 2:00. Let it rise in the pan for 2 hours and it’s ready for dinner!
That sounds perfect! Thank you for letting me know!
Tastes amazing. My first attempt came out a bit dense. Any ideas?
Glad you liked the taste! There are many reasons a bread can come out dense. It’s hard to know for me, not being there. I would check google & see if it was any of those reasons. I’m glad you tried it!
Make sure you’re using proper measurements – especially with flour. You want to weigh the 2 cups of flour to the correct weight per cup
This is the 2nd time I’m making this bread and it is beyond perfect. I followed the instructions you provided with a slight change. When I took the bread out to be in room temperature I just kept it in the oven with the light on due to winters. It’s delicious and I will make it again and again and again. Thank you!
I love that! Thank you for letting me know!
This is such an easy yummy bread. I always make it when I make Zuppa Toscana soup. I have to make 2 because we love it so much. It’s worth buying the salt flakes!