The perfect bread for beginner bakers. No kneading or starters required. Delicious homemade bread has never been this easy. Anyone can make fresh homemade focaccia with a few simple ingredients.
Jump to RecipeWhy Make it at Home?
Baking bread from scratch is almost always cheaper and more delicious than buying it. But what stops everyone from baking is because it’s a complicated hassle, and the resulting bread goes bad pretty quick. But that is not the case with focaccia. Not only does homemade focaccia have all the benefits of homemade bread, it has none of the downsides..
It’s easy
Focaccia requires no kneading, no sourdough starters, and no precise shaping. It’s simply a matter of mixing the ingredients together, waiting, and baking. The perfect beginner’s loaf.
It’s more stable
Focaccia has a high fat content compared to other breads. This delays the bread from going stale and/or becoming moldy. Focaccia can last 2-3 days at room temperature, a week in the fridge, and who knows how long in the freezer.
How It’s Done
The basic steps to making a loaf of bread are as follows:
The basic steps to making a loaf of bread are as follows…
- Mixing: Combining the ingredients together to form a dough.
- Kneading: The most physically demanding step. Working the dough to form gluten.
- 1st Rise: Giving the yeast time to feed and create gas that makes the dough rise and gives it flavor.
- Shaping: Working the dough into its desired shape, either by shaping by hand or placing it in a baking dish.
- 2nd Rise: Letting the dough expand in its shaped form, giving it more volume.
- Baking: Self explanatory….
…. Focaccia is very similar, except that it’s even easier. Because focaccia does not require kneading. The process to focaccia is just mixing, 1st rise, shaping, 2nd rise, and baking. Overall a 5-step process.
Better than Bakery Tomato Rosemary Foccacia
10
servings6
hours25
minutesIngredients
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp honey
5 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp kosher salt + more for topping
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
1 sprig rosemary
8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
Directions
- Mix yeast and honey with 2 ½ cups of warm water. Let sit for a few minutes and check for bubbles. If no bubbles appear, start over with new yeast.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour and salt. Pour in the water/yeast/honey mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until it comes together in a dough with no dry spots remaining.
- Pour in 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and move the dough around so that it is fully coated in the oil. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Let rest in the fridge for 12-24 hours for maximum taste. Or rest on the counter at room temperature for 3-4 if you’re in a hurry.
- If coming from the fridge, let dough rest at room temperature for an hour before touching. Otherwise deflate the dough by grabbing the edge farthest from you, pulling and folding it over the dough. Turn and repeat two more times. Grease a 13x9in baking dish with butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Move the dough onto the tray and let it rise uncovered in the oven with the oven light on until it fills the tray (about 1-3 hours depending on how warm the environment is). Remove from the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425F / 220C. Dimple the entire surface of the focaccia with your fingers by poking all the way down to the bottom of the pan. Fill some of the dimples with cherry tomatoes, cut side up. Brush the top evenly with more extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle the top with rosemary and a pinch of kosher salt.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
