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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 made this bread for the first time last week and received rave reviews. It is so easy to make and amazingly delicious! I doubled it to make two loaves and it disappeared in no time. My family asked for more on Thanksgiving, so I’m planning to triple the recipe and use different toppings on each loaf.
Yay!! I’m so glad you loved the focaccia bread. What a fun idea to use different toppings for the different loaves. So glad you can use it for Thanksgiving, too!!
So easy and great with pasta sauces!!! Family absolutely loves❤️
Oh yay! So happy to hear that. Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try.
I made this bread today…to die for. Came out of the oven perfect after 22 minutes. Mine did stick to the bottom of the cake pan, so I just dug it out with a metal spatula. I will try parchment next time, other than that it’s a keeper. I like it because it’s a smaller “loaf” for a dinner. I have been using bread recipes that sit overnight for a while now. Will never go back to the old way. Texture and taste…wow!
Oh I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the Focaccia! Thank you so much for your kind words!
Hi Cynthia, I put about 3 tAblespoons of
Oil instead of 1 and it turned out perfect and didn’t stick
I’m wondering if I could put this in crumpet rings for individual sandwich thins? Anyone ever tried this? How long in the oven
I have never tried doing that, but you could give it a try! I’d suggest keeping a real close eye on the baking time. I’d reduce it quite a bit, depending on the size of your crumpet rings. If you do try it, you will have to let us know how the individual focaccia’s turn out.
Delicious and easy.
Yay!! That’s totally what we go for with our recipes. Thanks for giving it a try!
This is definitely a keeper even with the minor tweaks. I weighed my flour at 250 grams, which is a must for any baking, plus reduced the salt flakes and basil to 1/2 and while I added 1 tbsp to the bottom and internal side of my round baking I honest simply drizzled my own desired amount atop before baking. This recipe is universal and quite honestly any topping can be replaced with anything else. My family loved it. Not dense but rather light and delicious.
Yay! I’m so glad your family loved the recipe. Thanks for sharing your tweaks and for giving the recipe a try!
Fantastic recipe. Easy to make and LOVED (and I mean LOVED!) by all. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
You’re welcome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for giving it a try.
So easy and so good.
Thank you!! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
This is delicious! I’ve made it twice, the first time I followed the directions and added freshly grated parmesan cheese. The second time, and my favorite, I omitted all the seasonings and sprinkled everything bagel toppings and sunflower seeds. So good!!
Ooh both ways sound delicious. Thanks for sharing! Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
Delicious and so easy! Sprinkle half with everything bagel mix and it was awesome!
Ooh that sounds delish! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!