Easy Focaccia Bread

This easy focaccia bread is light and soft and comes together in under an hour. The garlic and herbs inside give it a delicious savory flavor that is hard to resist.

Hello my friends!

I am excited for a new week.

It feels like I’m finally getting my feet back under me after a crazy but wonderful holiday (some details of which I shared in my last post along with that amazing ham and navy bean soup –oh yeah).

Can I just tell you how much I love this recipe I’m sharing today?

Okay seriously, my friends. This easy focaccia bread is a winner.

Why I love this focaccia bread recipe

First off, it is super easy. Hello–under an hour! And like 4 minutes of actual hands on time. The remaining time is spent letting the dough rest and rise and bake and stuff. I love easy breads.

Next off, it’s so tasty. Texture-wise it’s light and fluffy with just the right amount of chewy. Right out of the oven is probably my favorite way to eat it because it has that lovely crunchy crust–yum. And those garlic and herbs just kinda make the whole flavor package sing in delicious harmony.

Finally, this easy focaccia bread goes well with so many things. Italian dinner–check. Salad night–yes. After school or weekend snack–of course. Sandwiches–oh my, I am in heaven. They are seriously the best.

Hopefully I have you convinced you need to give this one a try. Even if you’re not a “bread maker” to speak of, this is a great bread recipe to get your feet wet. Don’t be afraid of it because the results are well worth the few minutes of effort. You will be amazed.

Update (5/21/2020): If you are new to breadmaking (or just looking to up your breadmaking game), I wrote up a super detailed guide to baking with yeast. It will walk you through a lot of common breadmaking pitfalls and help you become a breadmaking expert.

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Easy Focaccia Bread

This easy focaccia bread is light and soft and comes together in under an hour. The garlic and herbs inside give it a delicious savory flavor that is hard to resist.

Course Bread

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Easy Focaccia Bread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Rising Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 10 Servings

Author Heather @ thecookstreat.com

Ingredients

For Dough:

• 1 ½ cups very warm water about 110 degrees, see note
• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
• 2 large cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary or 1 ½ tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• ¾ teaspoon dried thyme or ¾ tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¾ teaspoon dried basil
• 3 to 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons instant yeast

For Baking:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
• ½ teaspoon coarse salt

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer add the water, salt, sugar, olive oil, minced garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, and 2 cups of the flour. Add the yeast on top of the flour. 

2. Add 1 to 1 ½ cups additional flour as needed (you may not need all of it) until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Be careful not to over flour the dough, it will get less sticky as it kneads. Let it mix for about 6 minutes. The dough should still be somewhat sticky but pliable and soft.

3. Spread 2 tablespoons of olive oil on a half size rimmed baking sheet. Place dough in center of oiled baking sheet, cover with dish cloth, and let rest for 5 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. With your hands, spread the dough out until it mostly fills the baking sheet. Cover with dish cloth and let rise for 15 minutes.

5. Use your knuckles or fingertips to make indentations over the dough, about every ½-inch. Lightly brush dough’s surface with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Tear or slice into pieces and serve.

Recipe Notes

1. I’ve found that tap water is usually not hot enough so I microwave the water for a minute to a minute and a half until it’s very warm, but not scalding. 

2. This bread is can be frozen and reheated. It is best if frozen the same day as it is baked. 

3. I’ve made this bread successfully with part white wheat flour. I usually use about 2 cups of white wheat flour and the rest all-purpose white flour. You may also want to experiment with using all whole-wheat flour, but my guess is it will be quite a bit more dense. One option you could try would be to use ⅓ cup gluten flour and the rest of the flour whole white wheat flour. The gluten flour will help the dough stick together better with less flour, making it lighter. 

4. This bread can also be made without a mixer. After making the dough, you will knead the bread by hand for about 8 to 10 minutes. Then let it rise in an oiled bowl until doubled first. Then follow the instructions for a second rise in the pan before indenting with your fingers and baking.

Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat

All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat

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