If you've been aching to try your hand at homemade bread but feel intimidated, this super simple recipe for homemade Focaccia with Rosemary and Sea Salt is an excellent place to start!
Baking bread can sometimes be an onerous task that can make a home cook shudder. Not so with this recipe for easy focaccia. This straightforward recipe is perfect for even the most novice bread bakers. Go ahead and give homemade bread a shot this weekend; you won't regret it!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Bread Recipe
Some bread recipes can get quite involved. In fact, the opening chapter of Tartine Bread offers a staggering 27 pages of instruction to make "Basic Country Bread." And that's without the "In Depth" analysis, which runs another 10 pages of just text.
Unless you're a dedicated kitchen nerd like me, that intensity is more than enough to send someone running for the bread aisle. This recipe for easy focaccia, on the other hand, is just seven steps long and can be written in a single page of text. Oh, and you just need six ingredients to make it.
If you've ever had the pleasure of smelling fresh bread baking, you'll know what a delicious aroma it is. I've gotta tell you, it's even better when that cozy smell permeates your whole house. That's especially true if it's in the middle of a winter vortex like we are now.
As a bonus, eating bread fresh from the oven easily makes the top 10 list of simple pleasures. Seriously. Do yourself a favor and make this easy bread recipe, tear off a hunk straight from the oven and slather it in butter before gobbling it down. I promise your life will be better for it.
Ingredients and Equipment
This easy focaccia recipe requires just 6 ingredients (7 if you count water). Here's everything you need:
In terms of equipment, I highly recommend using a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. While you technically can make this bread without one, it will require a lot more elbow grease and time to get it done.
How to Make Homemade Foccacia
Step 1 - Proofing Yeast
Proofing your yeast is arguably the most important step in making this homemade focaccia. While it might sound super technical, the idea is simple - you are checking to make sure that the yeast is still alive and well.
To proof the yeast, mix it with lukewarm water (between 105-115F) and sugar or honey. Stir it together and wait 5-10 minutes.
If your yeast is alive, you will begin to see a bubbly, foamy looking substance on the top of your mixture. It should also smell, for lack of a better word, yeasty and bread-like.
If there is no foam on the top of your mixture, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and DO NOT continue with the bread making process. Go out and get yourself some fresh yeast before continuing, or you'll end up with a solid brick rather than a delicious loaf.
TIP: To keep yeast fresh, it is best to keep it in the freezer. Even yeast that has passed the "expiration date" will likely stay alive for much longer if you keep it on ice.
Step 2 - Kneading Dough
Now that the yeast has proofed, add your all purpose flour, olive oil and salt to the mix. Set your stand mixer to knead on low speed for about 5 minutes.
The dough should begin to come off the side of the bowl easily during this process. If it is sticking to the bowl, add more flour about a tablespoon at a time.
Step 3 - Proofing Dough
Cover the bowl with a clean towel and move to a warm, draft free place in your home. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.
TIP: Live in an older house that is chilly and drafty? No problem, so do I! Turn your oven into a proofing box by placing a cake tin at the bottom. Fill with about an inch of boiling water, pop your covered bread dough onto a rack and close the door.
Invert the mixing bowl and dump the risen dough into a 9 x 13 that you've drizzled with a few glugs of olive oil.
Rub your hands with a bit of olive oil and shape the dough by stretching it out and pushing your fingers all the way through to the glass.
When the dough is in a roughly even shape in the pan, cover it again and allow to rise a second time. It should double in size again, although this time should only take about 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400F during this second rise.
TIP: If you were using the oven to proof your dough on the first rise, just let the dough hang out on top of the preheating oven for the second rise.
Step 4 - Baking
When the dough has risen the second time, drizzle with several tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with flaky salt (like Maldon) and fresh rosemary.
Pop in the preheated oven and bake until golden and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
While rosemary is a pretty traditional flavoring for focaccia, you don't need to feel limited by it at all. Feel free to experiment with different toppings like olives, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, basil or cheese. Once you have the hang of proofing the dough, you can even go so far as to do focaccia still life!
Be sure to proof your yeast prior to making the focaccia dough. Stir the yeast together with lukewarm water and sugar or honey. If the yeast is alive, a grey-beige creamy looking foam will rise to the top.
Proofing your dough is just as important as making sure your yeast is alive, and the time it takes will vary based on the conditions in your kitchen. The best way to check if your dough is proofed is by poking it. Once it looks as though it is approaching the doubled in size mark, push your knuckle into the dough.
If the hole left by your knuckle springs back immediately, the dough needs a bit more time. If the dough lazily returns to shape, it is perfectly proofed and ready to bake. And if it doesn't spring back at all? You've over-proofed the dough.
If your dough is over-proofed, follow these steps to get yourself back on track.
Need more made-from-scratch inspiration? Check out these other recipes that'll make you feel like a bona fide chef:
- Potato, Cheese and Caramelized Onion Pierogi
- Homemade CBD Gummies
- Marshmallows with Egg Whites
- Homemade Candy Corn with Honey
- Pumpkin Spice Latte Syrup
- Homemade Pumpkin Peanut Dog Treats
If you made this recipe for easy Homemade Focaccia with Rosemary and Sea Salt, let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
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Homemade Focaccia with Rosemary and Sea Salt
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ C Lukewarm Water between 105-115F
- 2 ½ teaspoon Honey or sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 3 ½ C AP Flour
- ¼ C Olive Oil plus more for drizzling
- 2 ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1-2 tablespoon Flaky Sea Salt preferably Maldon, or to taste
- 3 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary Leaves chopped
Instructions
- Mix yeast with lukewarm water (between 105-115F) and honey. Stir it together and wait 5-10 minutes. If your yeast is alive, you will begin to see a bubbly, foamy looking substance on the top of your mixture. It should also smell, for lack of a better word, yeasty and bread-like.NOTE: If there is no foam on the top of your mixture, DO NOT continue with the bread making process. Go out and get yourself some fresh yeast before continuing, or you'll end up with a solid brick rather than a delicious loaf.
- Add all purpose flour, olive oil and kosher salt to the mix. Set your stand mixer to knead on low speed for about 5 minutes.NOTE: The dough should begin to come off the side of the bowl easily during this process. If it is sticking to the bowl, add more flour about a tablespoon at a time.
- Cover the bowl with a clean towel and move to a warm, draft free place in your home. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.
- Invert the mixing bowl and dump the risen dough into a 9 x 13 that you've drizzled with a few glugs of olive oil. Rub your hands with a bit of olive oil and shape the dough by stretching it out and pushing your fingers all the way through to the glass. When the dough is in a roughly even shape in the pan, cover it again and allow to rise a second time. It should double in size again, although this time should only take about 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400F during this second rise.
- When the dough has risen the second time, drizzle with several tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle liberally with flaky salt (like Maldon) and fresh rosemary.Pop in the preheated oven and bake until golden and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!
Notes
- To keep yeast fresh, it is best to keep it in the freezer. Even yeast that has passed the "expiration date" will likely stay alive for much longer if you keep it on ice.
- Live in an older house that is chilly and drafty? Turn your oven into a proofing box by placing a cake tin at the bottom. Fill with about an inch of boiling water, pop your covered bread dough onto a rack and close the door.
- If you were using the oven to proof your dough on the first rise, just let the dough hang out on top of the preheating oven for the second rise.
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