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Home » Baked Goods

Easy Rosemary and Sea Salt Focaccia

Published: Feb 12, 2021 · Modified: May 23, 2021 by Ash, The Grocery Addict · This post may contain affiliate links ·

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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!

overhead shot of tray of rosemary focaccia with one slice removed and turned on its side to show texture

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
  • Ingredients and Equipment
  • How to Make Homemade Foccacia
    • Step 1 - Proofing Yeast
    • Step 2 - Kneading Dough
    • Step 3 - Proofing Dough
    • Step 4 - Baking
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Need more made-from-scratch inspiration? Check out these other recipes that'll make you feel like a bona fide chef:

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:

mise en place for homemade rosemary focaccia recipe - olive oil, ap flour, lukewarm water, honey, salt and yeast

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.

yeast in bowl with lukewarm water and honey

To proof the yeast, mix it with lukewarm water (between 105-115F) and sugar or honey. Stir it together and wait 5-10 minutes.

overhead shot of proofed yeast showing a foamy substance on the top illustrating that the yeast is alive

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

remaining focaccia recipe ingredients added to mixing bowl after yeast is proofed

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.

  • focaccia dough still too sticky to pull from side of bowl, so a tablespoon of flour has been added
  • perfectly kneaded focaccia dough that is in a ball at bottom of mixing bowl

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.

focaccia dough after mixing

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.

  • overhead shot of focaccia dough after proper first rise
  • sideways shot of focaccia dough in mixing bowl after proper first rise

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.

focaccia dough being turned out of bowl into an olive oil greased 9x13

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.

  • close up of hand pushing all the way through focaccia dough to stretch it
  • overhead shot of hand stretching focaccia dough into 9x13

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.

9x13 pyrex baking dish with focaccia dough that has been stretched out for second rise

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.

  • 9x13 with focaccia dough after second rise
  • focaccia dough sprinkled with maldon and fresh rosemary after second rise

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!

overhead shot of 9x13 with rosemary focaccia after baking

Frequently Asked Questions

What flavors can I use other than rosemary and sea salt?

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!
sprig of rosemary and maldon salt

How can I tell if my yeast is alive?

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.

How do I know if the dough has risen enough?

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.

close up shot of a piece of easy homemade focaccia turned on its side to show texture

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!

If you’d like more tasty recipes delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up for my email newsletter here. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.

tray of baked rosemary and sea salt focaccia with a slice cut out

Homemade Focaccia with Rosemary and Sea Salt

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven. 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!
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Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Proofing Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 30 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Servings 12
Calories 185 kcal

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • 9 x 13

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 5gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 873mgPotassium: 65mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 15IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Cheap, Comforting, Easy
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Hey y'all! My name is Ashley, and I'm the Grocery Addict. I'm here to share my best time saving tips, money saving tricks and store bought grocery hacks to make being the CFO (Chief Food Officer) of your family a little easier. All of my recipes are designed for real, busy people - like you! - who want to eat healthy, homemade food on a tight budget. I can't wait to see you in the kitchen!

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