Homemade focaccia bread
Let’s learn how to make homemade focaccia bread. Dotted with black olives and rosemary this simple bread recipe is famous for being crisp on the outside yet soft and fluffy on the inside. It’s the perfect side to soups and salads, a wow factor on your grazing boards or as a sandwich bread filled with grilled vegetables and provolone cheese.
Am I making you hungry? Because I’m starving 😜
If you are new to bread making then homemade Focaccia bread is a great place to start. It’s a simple and easy recipe to follow. The recipe allows you to observe the dough as it changes in shape, size, texture and aroma.
It’s also a great recipe for kids because it’s really simple. So get them involved in the mixing and the kneading or even just to help with the topping. This will ensure they are going to enjoy the end result so much more.
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Homemade focaccia bread
Focaccia is an Italian flatbread which has very similar ingredients to pizza dough, which includes flour, oil, water, yeast and salt. The main difference is focaccia uses more yeast to allow the dough to rise more and results in the focaccia being higher, fluffier and having a more bread like texture.
Focaccia has been around for over 1000 years and It’s name gives us a clue on how it was made . The word “focus” is latin for hearth and back in the day they used flat stone hearths to bake the focaccie in the oven.
Traditionally, focaccia is topped with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and rosemary. The black olives I add in this recipe give it a wonderful salty flavour.
You can experiment with different toppings and I have provided some inspiration to get you started below if you keep scrolling.
What you will need
- Bakers Flour: Typo 00 or bakers flour is preferred but I have made this countless times with regular plain flour and I have still had great results.
- Salt
- Sugar
- Dried instant yeast .You can get this at your local Coles or Woolies. Click here to see the exact one I use.
- Lukewarm water (this is to help the instant yeast dissolve)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Rosemary
- Black olives; I love using black olives that have the pip intact. Although there’s a bit more work involved with pitting the olives they give so much more flavour. Use an Olive pitter to make it super easy you can get one here!
How to make focaccia bread
Place flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix until it’s well combined.
Make a well in the centre and add the yeast, water and oil. Mix to form a rough dough. When you start to see long strands form in the dough, move it to a lightly floured surface.
Knead using your fingertips until it comes away clean then roll into a ball and return to the bowl.
Place the bowl in a clean plastic bag and tie the ends so it is loosely covered. Place the bowl in a warm place to ferment for at least one hour or until the dough has roughly increased in size by two-thirds.
Once the dough has risen remove from the bowl and place in an oiled tray. Now using lightly oiled fingertips, press the dough out to the edges of the tray. Brush with oil, then push in the rosemary and black olives and sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
Preheat your oven to 250C°/C220°C for fan forced.
Place the tray on the centre shelf of the oven, then reduce the temperature to 210°C/185°C fan forced and bake for 20 minutes or until the base sounds hollow when tapped with your knuckles. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Other ideas for focaccia toppings
- Keep it simple with Rosemary and sea salt.
- Oregano, fresh crushed garlic and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes. You can also use cherry tomatoes as they are sweet and delicious.
- Very thin slices of potatoes, rosemary, olive oil and salt
- For something a bit different you can do fresh slices of figs and honey. Figs roast up beautifully
How to serve your homemade focaccia bread
I love, love, love how versatile focaccia bread is as there are so many ways to enjoy it!
Treat it like you would pizza! Cut it up and share it around. Make a meal out of it by serving it with a side salad such as a Greek salad or Fennel and orange salad.
Use it as a starter and serve it with extra virgin olive oil and a good balsamic vinegar for dipping.
Jazz up a main meal and serve it up as a side to your pumpkin soup or lentil soup (any soup really)
A side to your spaghetti bolognese or even stews like Osso buco or chicken cacciatore.
How amazing will your next grazing board look with this homemade focaccia bread!
Another great way to serve focaccia and this is one of my absolute favourites is to use it as you would sandwich bread. Fill with grilled veggies; like capsicum, zucchini or eggplant and provolone cheese. So delicious!
How long will Focaccia bread keep
Focaccia is best enjoyed on the day you make it. It will keep for 2-3 days but it will go hard and lose that soft and fluffy texture. If you are going to keep it for a few days you can toast it before serving.
Like other breads, focaccia can be kept covered on the bench or in your bread bin. If your focaccia toppings contain any dairy or meat then store in the fridge.
If you wish to keep the focaccia longer than 2-3 days then I recommend freezing the focaccia. For best results ensure the bread is wrapped well using plastic wrap or in zip lock freezer bags. check out how awesome these reusable freezer bags are! there are also great for the environment. Click here to check them out.
Tools to make the job easier
Silikomart 3D mould Focaccia tray
I hope you have enjoyed this post on homemade focaccia bread. Did you learn something new? Comment below to let me know?
The though of baking bread can be a bit daunting if you have never tried but this recipe is the perfect place to start. Its really easy and fun to make and even better to enjoy!
MFM XX
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Homemade focaccia bread
Ingredients
- 360g Flour preferably typo 00 or bakers flour
- 1 tsp table salt
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp dried instant yeast
- 265 ml lukewarm water
- Olive oil for brushing
- black olives pitted to serve
- rosemary springs
- sea salt flakes to serve
Instructions
- Place the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix with a whisk.
- Make a well in the centre and place the yeast in the well. Add the water and oil and mix to form a rough dough. When long strands form in the dough, move it to a lightly floured surface.
- Knead using your fingertips until it comes away clean. Tuck into a ball and return to the bowl.
- Place the bowl in a clean plastic bag, tie the ends so it is loosely covered and allow to ferment in a warm place for an hour or so or until the dough has roughly increased in size by two-thirds.
- Preheat oven to 250°C/220°C fan.
- Oil a 30 cm × 20 cm tray. Remove the dough from the bowl and, using lightly oiled fingertips, press the dough out to the edges of the tray. Brush with a little oil, then push in the olives and rosemary leaves and sprinkle with salt flakes. Leave to prove in a warm place for 20 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Place the tray on the centre shelf of the oven, then reduce the temperature to 210°C/185°C fan and bake for 20 minutes or until the base sounds hollow when tapped with your knuckles. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
