Slipping in between freshly laundered sheets, dipping your toes in cool beach sand, smelling garlic and onions roasting – these are just a few sensual pleasures. However, nothing compares to adding dimples to focaccia dough. (see video clip below)
Here you will find two methods for making crispy, yummy, puffy focaccia. You have the option of making the dough and baking the bread on the same day or making the dough and refrigerating overnight. Either way is delicious and gives you some wiggle room in your schedule.
Making a sheet of focaccia bread lends itself to creativity when it comes to toppings. Sprinkle with minced garlic, scatter with fresh herbs, or add veggie slices. For this recipe, I used sliced red onion. It was delicious and very sweet.
Stay tuned for my next post where I’ll make focaccia ripiena, a stuffed focaccia from Puglia.
Buon appetito!
Easy Focaccia
Ingredients
- 7 grams active dry yeast (1 package)
- 350 grams room temperature water ~ 75°F (1 ½ cups)
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 500 grams bread flour (3½ cups)
- 4 tbsp. olive oil
Optional toppings
- 1 tsp. Maldon finishing salt
- 4-5 slices red onion – thinly sliced
- 4-5 slices zucchini rounds, sliced
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and water. Swish to combine and let sit for 10 mnutes.
- Add salt and flour and using your hands or a dough hook, mix until the ingredients are uniformly combined. Do not knead.
- Cover and set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes. Then for a total of 3 times, fold the dough every 30 minutes. (see video below) So, a total of 2 hours will elapse: Mix dough, wait 30 minutes, fold, wait 30 minutes, fold, wait 30 minutes, then fold, wait 30 minutes.
- Option 1: Take a parchment-lined 9" x 13" baking pan and pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Lay the dough on top of the olve oil, cover and let rise for 2 hours.After two hours, the dough should be puffy and risen to almost double. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your hands and rub it all over the top of the dough. Using your fingertips (the fun part) dimple the dough all over, pressing about halfway to the bottom. (see video below)(One of the secrets to focaccia is to have a coating of olive oil on the surface so it will crisp up in the oven.)
- Option 2: After folding and waiting (the 2 hour total) cover and refrigerate overnight.In the morning, remove the dough from the fridge. Drizzle 2 tbsp. olive oil over a parchment-lined 9" x 13" baking pan and place the dough on top. Cover and rest for 2 hours. The dough should be puffy and risen to almost double. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your hands and rub it all over the top of the dough. Using your fingertips (the fun part) dimple the dough all over, pressing about halfway into the dough.
- Preheat oven to 470 °F
- Add finishing salt. As an option, place sliced onion and/or zucchini rounds and drizzle with a bit more olive oil.
- Bake @ 470° F for 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy on top and bottom.
I loved this focaccia and so did the family. The dough seemed to wet at first, but in the end it was perfect. It reminded me of sourdough with lots of air pockets. Yum!