Rosemary Focaccia
Rosemary focaccia is a light savory bread that has a soft interior, a slightly crispy bottom and a dimpled top that’s dusted with salt and hints of rosemary. It is DELICIOUS!
Read more: Oven Roasted Tomato Focaccia, Rhubarb & Caramelized Onion Focaccia, Make Fancy Finishing Salts.
Those salt crystals and rosemary bits you see are from my homemade Rosemary Finishing Salt which is perfect on this focaccia but also great on roasted veggies, grilled meat, pita crisps and baked potatoes. Of course, you can sub in fresh rosemary and Kosher or sea salt.
What is Focaccia?
Focaccia is a style of Italian flat bread. It’s a yeast dough made delicious with salt, oil and herbs. Sometimes it is topped with olives, onions, garlic, tomatoes or other grilled veggies. You can even use rhubarb! Try this caramelized onion and rhubarb focaccia it’s also in my Rhubarb eCookbook.
The dimples in focaccia bread are perfect little vessels for holding extra oil and seasoning. The oil keeps the bread both tender and crispy at the same time. In fact, you may be surprised how much oil is used in focaccia – in the dough, on the pan and on top of the dough before and after it’s baked. It’s all part of the deliciousness.
Traditionally, focaccia is made with good quality olive oil where its flavour really shines through. If you don’t have olive oil, create extra flavour by infusing canola oil with a clove of garlic and some rosemary or Italian Seasoning for 30 minutes before using in this recipe. You’ll LOVE the extra flavor.
A New Overnight, No Knead Recipe!
I first published my rosemary focaccia bread recipe in 2015. It’s one of my favourites that I make often. I still use this recipe when there’s a time crunch and I need a tasty bread to go with dinner in less than 2 hours.
But, like you, I’ve had my eye on those uber bubbly, soft and crispy focaccias that are all over social media. I want that too!
I’ve discovered how to get it – but there’s a trade off. TIME. The best way to get that incredibly puffy, delicious focaccia is with a high hydration, overnight, no knead recipe like this one from Serious Eats. You can store the dough in the fridge and make little batches at a time – oh yeah baby fresh focaccia on repeat!
When I remember to prep ahead, high hydration, overnight, no-knead focaccia is awesome. When I need something more urgently – my old rosemary focaccia recipe still hits the spot.
My Old Rosemary Focaccia Recipe – In 2 hours
Rosemary Focaccia
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp instant rise yeast (1 pkg)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 cup warm water 105°F or 41°C
- 4 Tbsp olive oil divided*
- 1-2 tsp rosemary finishing salt**
Instructions
- Combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, yeast, salt, sugar and onion powder. Mix well.
- Form a well in the flour mix and add lukewarm water and 2 Tbsp oil.
- Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are combined and it becomes difficult to continue to stir with a spoon.
- Turn dough mixture onto lightly floured surface.
- Knead dough for 6 – 7 minutes adding more flour only as needed to prevent stickiness. The goal is to work the gluten and make a nice soft stretchy dough, not to try to use up all the flour.
- Shape dough into a ball and coat evenly with 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of oil.
- Cover loosely with a towel and let rest for 45-60 minutes.
- Use 1/2 Tbsp of oil to generously coat a 9 x 13” (23 x 33 cm) jelly pan.
- Roll and stretch out dough to cover the pan. Expel as much air as possible in the process.
- Use your fingers to poke dimples into the dough right to the bottom of the pan.
- Use a pastry brush to brush remaining 1 Tbsp oil on top of dimpled dough allowing some to pool in the dimples.
- Sprinkle rosemary salt on top of dough.
- Cover with clean towel and let rest 15 minutes as oven preheats to 400ºF (200ºC).
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before removing from pan and cooling on wire rack.
- Drizzle with more oil if desired.
Notes
** Instead of rosemary finishing salt use 1-2 sprigs rosemary, stripped and chopped and 1-2 tsp kosher or sea salt.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Giving the Gift of Rosemary Focaccia Bread
It’s easy to turn this recipe into a wonderful gift, mix in a jar or mix in a bag. Here’s what to do.
Rosemary Focaccia Bread Mix – In a Jar or Bag
Mix together…
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) instant rise yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 onion powder
Pour into a jar or plastic bag. Seal well.
Attach Rosemary Focaccia Baking Instructions.
Have you made a focaccia bread before? What’s your favorite topping? If you make a batch, I’d love to see your version, share it on instagram and tag me @getgettys so I can like it.
Want to learn more? Get Getty to facilitate a home cooking session for you, a group of friends or a community group. Getty Stewart is an engaging and enthusiastic facilitator that makes it fun and easy to learn tasty recipes, time-saving tips, and helpful kitchen ideas. She is a Professional Home Economist, author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, mom and veggie gardener.
Easy and delicious! I substituted 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour for an equal amount of the white and loved the finished product. Will definitely make again, perhaps with some different toppings.
Thanks for your feedback and sharing your modifications.