Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Is there anything better than pairing extra-virgin olive oil with fresh rosemary, especially when embedded in bread?! The salt on top of this bread doesn’t hurt either.
Texture: The best part of homemade focaccia bread is the texture, am I right? It’s somehow magically chewy yet soft, rich, and just slightly crunchy and crusty at the edges. It’s perfection in every bite.
Ease: SO easy – you don’t even have to knead or use a mixer.
Pros: Just amazing all-around.
Cons: Patience while the focaccia bread rises.
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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I love baking bread (like this Focaccia Bread!) and I frequently receive messages from readers, saying you love seeing bread-baking-related recipes, tips, tutorials, and videos. That makes me SO happy.
The idea of making homemade bread can be daunting – and can also feel like something only done in decades past. How many of you have grandmothers who only baked bread from scratch?
I am thrilled about the more recent trend toward scratch-made cooking and baking and the increased importance placed on quality ingredients and food. That is what I am ALL about! Bread baking gets a bad rap – but in reality, all it requires is patience. I promise it’s not as scary as it seems.
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I recently binge-watched Salt Fat Acid Head on Netflix and LOVED it.
Samin Nosrat has such a pure and joyful love and curiosity for food and culture that’s positively contagious. In the “Fat” episode, she makes a batch of Ligurian Focaccia. It looks so perfect and incredible that I knew I needed to make a batch myself, STAT.
So I took my original easy focaccia bread recipe from years ago (first published in 2014!) and added elements to it inspired by Diego and Samin in the show.
I reduced the amount of yeast and added a longer rising / fermentation time, to develop a better flavor and texture inside. It’s totally worth the wait. Not only that, but in doing so, I was able to switch this to a ‘no knead’ method recipe, so you don’t even need a stand mixer!
Then I added a salty brine on top of the dough just before baking, to give the focaccia that crispy salty crust that’s so mouthwatering and addictive.
More tips for this chewy focaccia bread recipe below!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Focaccia Bread
Ingredients for Rosemary Focaccia Bread
- Active dry yeast – Learn about the differences between active dry vs. instant yeast here.
- All-purpose flour – The backbone of our focaccia bread. You can use bread flour if you prefer, but all-purpose works great here.
- Granulated sugar – Just a little, to help feed the yeast as the bread ferments.
- Salt – Do not skip the salt!
- Fresh rosemary – For the most incredible flavor!
- Extra virgin olive oil – This is where the magical flavor and texture comes from!
How to Make Crispy Focaccia Bread
To guarantee crispy golden brown edges, I like to use a pizza stone to bake the tray of focaccia dough on. If you don’t have one, simply invert a high-quality rimmed baking pan and use in place of a stone.
Variations for Homemade Focaccia Bread
- Fresh herbs – Feel free to add whatever herbs you like to this focaccia bread. Fresh sage is a delicious alternative/addition. Fresh thyme, basil, and chives are also fabulous options.
- Toppings – You can also top the bread with whatever you fancy. I like shredded cheese (parmesan cheese works great), crumbled feta or goat cheese, torn fresh mozzarella, olives, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, or even caramelized onions.
- Homemade everything bagel seasoning adds a fun touch.
- Garlic cloves – Add fresh, finely minced garlic to the dough.
- Pizza – Make a Focaccia Pizza!
- Sandwiches – Use a serrated knife to slice your cooled bread in half and make focaccia sandwiches.
- Dip into your favorite soups!
How to Make Focaccia Bread Ahead of Time
You can make focaccia bread ahead of time by letting the dough chill in the fridge, covered, for a few days before shaping. The longer it ferments, the more flavor will develop! Allow to come to room temperature before shaping and allowing to rise for the second time.
How to Serve & Store or Freeze Focaccia Bread
The focaccia bread is definitely best served the day it’s made. However, you can freeze any leftover focaccia. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Keep in the freezer for one month. Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh in a 325°F oven until warmed through and crispy again, about 5 minutes. Day-old bread can also be chopped up, baked at 375°F for about 10 minutes, and used as croutons!
More Savory Recipes You’ll Love:
Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups lukewarm water, about 100° to 110°F
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 5 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves, chopped and divided
- 5 1/4 cups (670 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus coarse sea salt for sprinkling
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
For the brine:
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup lukewarm water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Add in 2 teaspoons of the chopped rosemary, half the flour, and the salt, and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup olive oil. Gradually add in the remaining flour until a shaggy mass forms. Only add in as much flour as you need to create a shaggy, slightly sticky dough.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment at room temperature for about 8 to 10 hours, or until doubled in size. At this point, you can refrigerate the dough for several days until ready to bake. This will also develop more flavor.
- Coat a rimmed half-sheet pan with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. Turn the dough onto the pan and begin pressing it out with your fingertips to fit the size of the pan. Coax and stretch the dough to fit the entire pan, or just about. If the dough springs back, cover and let it rest for 10 minutes before proceeding. Spread your fingers to make little dimples all the way through the dough.
Make the brine:
- Combine the warm water and salt together until the salt is dissolved. Pour all over the dough to make little pools of water in the dimples. Cover loosely with plastic and allow to rise again until the dough is puffy, about 45 minutes.
Bake the bread:
- Meanwhile, place a baking stone in the oven and preheat to 450°F. If you don't have a baking stone, invert a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven to preheat.
- Sprinkle the dough liberally with coarse sea salt and the remaining rosemary leaves. Bake with the sheet pan on top of stone until the focaccia is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and has been updated with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Hi is all purpose flour what we call plain flour in the uk?
Thanks
Yes, should be the same.
Hi Jamie, I made my bread in a regular jelly roll pan (bottom measures 10″ by 15″). The bread sliced wonderfully for a nice sandwich.
This looks amazing! Question for you though…I am wanting to make foccacia to slice in half and eat sandwiches on. Does this get thick enough for that? I need to make it for a large group and don’t want a bunch of foccacia that is too thin to make a sandwich on!
I have made this bread twice in the last week since discovering your recipe. It is delicious. The second time I used thyme instead of rosemary and sprinkled shredded parmesan on top before baking. Either way it was so good! We end up giving so much away because we want to share it. So far we have had it with pasta and chili. We have toasted it. We have made sandwiches with it. I have had so many requests for the recipe and have guided my friends to your site and your wonderful video. Thank you so much for sharing!
Just put it the oven will let you know how it comes out….can’t wait!!!
I loved this! It was so yummy!
I’m new to bread making so forgive me if this is a dumb question. Would I be able to use Whole Wheat Flour rather than All-Purpose? Perhaps a combination of the two? I just don’t have enough of the All-Purpose at the moment and wanted to avoid having to go to the store if possible. ?
Thank you!
I don’t think the results would be quite as good. It would make the Focaccia denser with a more pronounced wheat flavor. If that’s okay with you – give it a try. If not, it might be worth the effort to run to the store to make a really awesome bread. Happy baking!
Whole wheat flour absorbs more water than white. It also makes it more difficult for yeast to do its thing. You might add 1/3 of the flour as WW or add a few tablespoons of wheat bran. That might not make too much difference. Just be sure to add a little extra water. It’s impossible to say how much because air humidity, the age of your flours, and even when the wheat was harvested and ground make a difference in how it absorbs water. Sometimes must a teaspoon or two will do it.
Hey, wanted to make focaccia with dinner tonight and was shuffled here via Pinterest. Super easy recipe, I didn’t add the rosemary, but on the second rise I added some caramelized onions and garlic to the top, put coarse salt and pepper, topped it all with asiago cheese. I wish I could submit a photo! Thanks for the recipe!
Wonderful! Love your spin on the recipe. If you’re on Instagram use #handletheheat and I’ll see your photo!
Hi,
Love all your recipes and especially the videos that come along with the step by step guide. I would really appreciate if you could do pita bread recipe video.
TIA!
Where is the recipe? I signed up do I could get it.?
This looks amazing. I wonder if it would work with wholemeal flour?
AMAZING! I made this today and it smelled heavenly while baking and tasted even better. So simple and delicious. I cannot stop eating it!!!
Wonderful Emily! So happy to hear it 🙂