Focaccia Bread Recipe
Discover the Easiest Focaccia Bread Recipe for Your Dinner Table
Focaccia is an Italian bread that is closely associated with Liguria's capital city, Genoa, in northwestern Italy. The bread is known for its characteristic dimpled surface and flat shape. It is made with salted dough enriched with olive oil, and can be topped with herbs, vegetables, and cheese, or you can just bake it plain. Focaccia has a great homemade recipe that you can top up with any ingredient to make it incredibly delicious.
Overall, the focaccia recipe is easy to make when you know the exact ingredients and measurements. Be careful when cooking it in the oven because it must not overbake at any point. So, visit the sections below to understand the ingredients required to make the focaccia Italian recipe.
Focaccia Bread Ingredients
Below are all the ingredients you will need to make the focaccia bread. So, let's get cooking!
• 400 grams of all-purpose flour
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Active dry yeast or instant yeast
• Sea salt (according to taste)
• Fresh rosemary and other toppings (sun-dried tomatoes, olives, etc.)
• Warm water (according to need)
How to Make Focaccia Bread? - Step-by-Step Process
Focaccia is a dough-based recipe, so focusing on its knead and amount of olive oil is incredibly important. Ensure that you follow all the measures carefully and give it enough resting time to get the right amount of softness. So, make the focaccia bread by following the process below.
Step 1: Gather all your ingredients together, including the flour, salt, instant yeast, and warm water. Whisk them together and slick the dough with olive oil once ready.
Step 2: Cover the olive oil-coated dough and place the bowl in the refrigerator. Let it rest for 12-18 hours, where the bread will rise.
Step 3: Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and deflate the dough. Transfer it to a pan or a pie plate. You need to grease whichever dish you use beforehand to ensure the dough does not stick to the bottom.
Step 4: Pour a tablespoon of olive oil on the dough and leave it for 2 to 4 hours more.
Step 5: Dimple the dough once it's puffed up even more. Season the focaccia with salt and olive oil. You can also sprinkle rosemary over the dough and any other topping.
Step 6: Use your fingers to gently press down on the dough to make deep dimples.
Step 7: Transfer the dough immediately into the oven and bake it for 25 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the focaccia bread only when it has become golden all around.
Expert Tips on Making the Focaccia Bread Recipe
Use the expert tips below to successfully make a soft and fluffy focaccia.
Oil your Hands
The focaccia Italian recipe needs you to oil the bread often. Keep your hands oiled so the dough does not stick to your fingers when you need to dimple it.
Temperature Affects Rising Time
The time required for the dough to rise varies depending on the environment's temperature. So, you need to check the size of the dough to understand when you should move to the next step. Sometimes, it may take more time for the dough to rise, whereas in some places, it may take less. But generally, warm dough rises faster than when it is cold.
Freeze the Extras
Homemade focaccia tastes better when you eat it on the same day it's made. But you can still store the leftovers for up to 3 days in airtight containers at room temperature. You can preserve it even longer if you freeze it directly. Then, you can thaw and reheat it whenever you need to serve the bread.
Significant Ingredients
Flour is the main ingredient of this bread, so ensure that you measure it correctly. Use a kitchen scale if you have it, and get a precise amount of flour. You can also spoon and level the flour and put it in your measuring cup to get the exact amount. The olive oil will add rich flavour to your bread and make its edges golden and crispy. Rosemary is a traditional focaccia topping; you can chop it up and add it to the dough or sprinkle it before baking it. You can also put olives and sun-dried tomatoes in the bread to make it extra delicious.
Conclusion
The focaccia bread recipe is simple and easy to understand and does not require many ingredients. A primary factor in making this bread is letting the dough rest for as long as needed. And the resting time depends on your environment's temperature. You only need to ensure the dough has risen as much as possible. Be generous with the olive oil since it boosts the bread's flavour. You can also experiment with every kind of topping since you can make many bread designs using herbs and veggies on top of the focaccia.
FAQs
1. When do I put the toppings on the focaccia bread?
You can put the toppings twice, once when kneading the dough or when you have dimpled the dough. Then, you can put the toppings in the wet dough, drizzle it with olive oil, and stick it into the oven.
2. Can I make focaccia without putting it on overnight rise?
You can make focaccia without leaving it out for the rise, but it may not be as pillowy. Because the longer you let the dough rise, the softer the bread will be.
3. How to serve focaccia bread?
You can serve the bread right after cutting it up into small pieces. At the same time, you can even make sandwiches with the bread and add in some filling to make it more appealing.
4. How can I make focaccia in different variations?
To make the different variations of focaccia, you can start by adding other toppings such as fresh thyme, sun-dried tomatoes or roasted cherry tomatoes, caramelised onions, thinly sliced lemon, roasted garlic, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and more.
