Prepare this simple dough and top with your favorite ingredients for a bread that’s low on fuss and will make you feel like you’ve scored bread basket gold at your favorite Italian restaurant. If you’ve never had homemade focaccia bread, you’re in for a treat. Among one of the easiest bread recipes to make (this Oatmeal Bread is a close second), no knead focaccia is perfect for beginners and master bakers alike. Some of my favorite things about this focaccia:
Soft, golden and airy consistency.Rich, earthy flavor that comes from the olive oil.No-knead method—making it nearly impossible to overwork the dough.Complete customizability with topping possibilities that are only limited by your imagination.
This particular recipe always brings me back to my travels through Europe where the smells of freshly-baked bread, seasonal herbs, and fresh produce regularly mingle together in bustling food halls and open-air markets. Both focaccia and ciabatta are DELISH. Today I’m focusing on focaccia, which is much easier to make, even if you’ve never baked bread before. Focaccia
Has a lighter, cake-like consistency that’s similar to a deep dish pizza dough.Made with olive oil baked into the dough and drizzled on top.Baked as a flatbread.Often scattered with herbs, marinated veggies and other toppings.
Ciabatta
Chewier texture with an open crumb structure.A leaner dough that, traditionally, does not contain olive oil.Baked as loaves.Often used as sandwich bread.
How to Make No Knead Focaccia
To make focaccia bread from scratch, all we need is a sturdy mixer and a few ingredients.
The Ingredients
Olive Oil. Be sure you use a good olive oil—you can really taste it, so it’s worth spending a few extra dollars on the bottle. (I’m a big fan of this one.)
Flour. I used 50% white whole wheat flour and 50% all-purpose flour and thought the texture was brilliant and the flavor rich and hearty. Plus, whole grains provide benefits like extra fiber and nutrients. My Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Crust uses the same ratio with great success.
Yeast. Even though focaccia is considered to be a flatbread, it still requires yeast to help the dough develop its perfectly pillowy texture.
Water. Warm water activates the yeast.
Sea Salt. Flavors the bread dough and, when sprinkled on top, adds just the right amount of seasoning to the finished bread.
The Directions
Storage Tips
To Store. This no knead focaccia is best eaten the day it’s made. However, leftovers may be stored at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1-2 days.To Freeze. No knead focaccia keeps beautifully in the freezer. Slice it into pieces and store it in a freezer-safe container or gallon-size plastic bag for up to 3 months.To Reheat. Defrost overnight and then reheat it on a baking sheet at 300 degrees F for 5-10 minutes.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
Essential Baking Sheets. I love how evenly these bake and use them almost daily.Serrated Bread Knife. To slice perfect pieces of this addicting bread.
Most brands call for a temperature ranging between 110 degrees F and 130 degrees F.
Rosemary + sea saltKalamata olives + caramelized onionsRed pepper flakes + ParmesanArtichokes + lemon zestBasil + sun-dried tomatoCrumbled feta + oregano
The dimples help catch and pool that final, flavorful drizzle of olive oilThey gently release excess air in the dough which helps prevent the bread from rising too quickly in the oven and collapsing.
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