Focaccia Bread Recipe
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A flat and airy bread with the most amazing chew, and don't get me started on the outer crunch! This simple bread is to die for! It takes time, but it's mostly passive, waiting for rising time. You are going to love it!
Author:
Recipe type: Bread
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 16-20
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups warm water
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1 packet instant yeast or 2¼ tsp yeast
  • 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ tsp sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • ½ tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp coarse sea salt
Instructions
  1. In a stand mixer, combine the warm water, honey, and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
  2. Add flour, 1½ tsp sea salt, and 1 tbsp olive oil.
  3. Mix with the bread hook attachment for 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky. If it seems extremely sticky, you can add ¼-1/2 cup additional flour.
  4. Once the dough has finished mixing for 5 minutes, leave it in the mixer and cover for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, you can turn the mixer on for 5-10 seconds just enough to stretch the dough, or you can use your hand to stretch and pull the dough 4 times. For this, you basically take turns grabbing each of the dough's four sides, pulling up, and then folding it down over on itself.
  5. Repeat that 30-minute rise and stretch 2 more times.
  6. While the dough is rising the third time, prepare a 9x13 baking dish by pouring 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) of olive oil into the baking dish and adding the dried rosemary to the oil. You can also sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on the oil and rosemary at this point. This will help the nice salty flavor reach the bottom of the bread, too.
  7. After the third rise, transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Place the dough in it and turn the dough over to completely cover with the oil, salt, and rosemary. Now, use your hands to gently press the dough in all directions until it covers the bottom of the pan. Once it covers the pan, press your fingers into the dough all the way to the bottom of the pan and all throughout the dough to create dimples. Cover and let rise for 30-40 minutes.
  8. Preheat oven to 450 degrees while the dough is having its final rise.
  9. After the 30-40 minute rise, uncover the dough, add more dimples by pressing your fingers in again. Then drizzle one more tbsp of olive oil over the dough, and sprinkle the rest of the 1 tsp coarse salt over the dough. If desired, you can sprinkle a little more rosemary at this point, too.
  10. Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Edges should be nice and crisp.
  11. Remove bread from the pan and place on a cooling rack. This helps the crust stay crisp. I find it works best to run a knife around the edges of the pan and use a flat spatula to reach under the edges as far as possible to loosen the bread before turning it out of the pan.
  12. If you can handle waiting, let the bread cool before slicing. If you are like me, you won't be able to handle that. It slices much easier when cooled.
  13. I can't wait for you to try this recipe! Enjoy!
Recipe by Real Life Dinner at https://reallifedinner.com/focaccia-bread-recipe/