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.
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.