Homemade Focaccia – How To Make Focaccia Bread

Delicious, easy homemade Focaccia bread! This homemade Focaccia is crispy and delicious! This is so easy to make. Start it in the morning and you’ll have a beautiful loaf before dinner!

Ingredients For The Focaccia Bread

The ingredients are bread flour, warm water, sugar, salt, yeast, olive oil and coarse salt.

Proof The Yeast

The first step is to mix the yeast and a pinch of sugar into 1/2 cup of the warm water. I always warm up my water to about 110 F (about 43 C). I find that warm water helps to activate the yeast. When you add your yeast to the water, make sure you gently sprinkle it in – don’t just plop it in! You want it to really combine. I stir mine with a fork to make sure it’s all incorporated into the water.

The next step is to cover the yeast mixture with some cling film and let it sit for about 10 minutes in a warm spot. After 10 minutes, you should see that your yeast mixture has become foamy and bubbly. If it hasn’t changed at all, then your yeast may not be good! If your yeast isn’t good, your bread won’t rise, so best to try a new batch.

Make The Focaccia Dough

Add the remaining water, sugar, 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt and 1 cup of the bread flour. Mix all of that with a spatula until the mixture is creamy. Then add another cup of the bread flour, and again, mix until the dough is creamy.

At this point, you want to add the rest of the flour, one scoop at a time. Keep mixing to incorporate the flour. When it gets too tough for your spatula, you can pour out your dough and carefully incorporate the rest of the flour. You’re not trying to knead the dough, just gently incorporate it. Once you have all of the flour incorporated, you can cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes in a warm spot.

Let The Dough Rise

In a very well-oiled pan, spread the dough out, and pat it down so that it is evenly distributed. Make sure you oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Cover it with cling film and let it rise in a warm spot for an hour. Make sure your cling film is oiled because the dough will really rise up!

I wasn’t kidding! Look at that rise! It’s risen about an inch above the rim of the pan in just one hour!

Time For Dimpling!

This is my favorite part of the recipe! With oiled fingers, you will now “dimple” your dough. Using the rest of the measured amount of olive oil, just stick your fingers into the oil, then into the dough to the bottom of the pan to make these dimples. Make sure you dip your fingers into the oil often so that the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dough.

Bake The Focaccia Bread

Cover the dough with cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 425 F (220C or gas mark 7). After the 30 minutes, sprinkle the dough with some coarse salt then pop it into the oven for 20-25 minutes until it’s a nice golden brown.

Look at this beauty! After the bread has baked, the last step is to take a metal spatula and carefully ease it out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. Don’t let the Focaccia bread sit in the pan because it will likely stick and be impossible to take out.

Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside! This bread is so delicious!

After the Focaccia bread has cooled completely, you can wrap it in cling film and keep it on the counter for a few days. If you don’t think you’ll be able to eat it, wrap it well and freeze it for up to 2 months.

Variations

My video instructions are below on how to make this Focaccia Bread. In the video, I add onions to the dough and it makes it so yummy! You can add olives to the dough as well, or chopped garlic, sun-dried tomatoes or goat cheese!

I use coarse salt to top the bread, but other popular ways to top Focaccia are with rosemary, sage, basil, oregano and/or Parmesan cheese.

I also often use Focaccia bread as a base for making pizzas!

Homemade Focaccia – How To Make Focaccia Bread

Recipe by Rain Frances

This homemade Italian Focaccia Bread is easy and delicious! Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside!

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups (375 ml) warm water (heated to 105-115 F / 40-46 C)

• 1 tbsp (15 g) brown sugar

• 1 tbsp (10 g) active dry yeast

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil, divided

• 1.5 tsp (12 g) salt

• 4.5 cups (670 g) bread flour

• Coarse salt for topping

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the warm water and a pinch of sugar. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir to dissolve. Let rest 10 minutes until foamy.
• Add remaining water, sugar, 1/4 cup of olive oil, salt and 1 cup of bread flour. Mix with a spatula until creamy.
• Add another cup of flour and mix well.
• Add the rest of the flour, one scoop at a time and combine well with your spatula. When it gets too tough to mix with the spatula, pour the dough out onto your work surface and gently incorporate the rest of the flour. Don’t knead – gently incorporate into a sticky dough.
• Return the dough to the bowl, cover and let rest in a warm spot for 20 minutes.
• Oil a 9 x 13 inch (22 x 33 cm) pan. Oil very well, bottom and sides. Turn the dough out into the pan and pat down evenly. Cover with oiled cling film and let rise for 1 hour in a warm spot.
• With oiled fingers, “dimple” the dough (see above photo), pushing your fingers to the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the remaining oil over the dough. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
• Preheat your oven to 425 F (220 C or gas mark 7).
• Sprinkle the Focaccia dough with the coarse salt and bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove the Focaccia bread gently from the pan immediately, using a metal spatula. Let cool on a cooling rack.

Recipe Video Instructions

Notes

• In the video, I add onions to the dough. Other delicious options are olives, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes or garlic!
• I use coarse salt to top the dough before baking. Other options are rosemary, basil, sage, oregano or Parmesan cheese!