Focaccia Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes focaccia bread different? ›

Focaccia is a type of Italian bread made with yeast and a strong, high-gluten flour (like bread flour) and baked in flat sheet pans. Unlike pizza dough, it's left to rise after being rolled out before going in the oven.

Benefits for your figure and your health

Rather, focaccia provides complex carbohydrates that slowly give the body energy and help better regulate blood sugar levels,” Schirò explains. If it's made with whole wheat flour then it's got an extra edge. “It provides a greater amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

The Guardian recommends using equal parts bread flour and 00 flour to make a focaccia. Fine Dining Lovers notes that 00 (double zero) flour is as finely ground as flour can come, and the dough contains similar amounts of gluten to bread flour.

1. Not enough water: This can leave you with dense, dry focaccia. For accuracy, measure out your ingredients using weight instead of cups to ensure you have the right ratio of ingredients.

Overnight: Proofing for 9-14 hours overnight in the fridge is better because of the slower fermentation. This process yields a better focaccia texture and taste. I like to make the dough the night before and place it the fridge to rise for anywhere between 9-14 hours.

If your focaccia is flat and dense, you likely did not knead the dough enough before you baked it.

So why does it tend to be more expensive to purchase? Friends who have worked in the restaurant industry had some thoughts: Focaccia requires a lot of olive oil, which is pricey (though some other breads call for butter and eggs, which pencil out to more in my own Kirkland-brand-olive-oil kitchen).

May Provide Satiety. If your focaccia bread is made according to tradition with extra virgin olive oil, this makes it heartier, with more protein and fats, than your average bread. It also makes it more filling and satisfying.

Now, focaccia uses plenty of olive oil, not only in the dough, but for kneading, proofing, in the baking pan, and on the bread's surface before baking. All this fat means the texture is light, moist and springy, the crust emerges golden and crisp, plus the center stays soft for days afterwards.

Dimpling (aka poking holes) in focaccia helps to release gas and air, which helps your focaccia to maintain its signature flat look. At the same time, olive oil that's drizzled onto the foccacia is able to infuse into the dough for a truly wonderful flavour!

Should focaccia be thin or thick? ›

Traditionally Tuscan focaccia is medium thick and medium soft but crispy on the outside. Salt and rosemary are its usual companions. However, throughout Tuscany you can also find a thin and crispy version as well thick and very soft. Tuscan panini with cheese and cold cuts often use focaccia for a base.

After 12 hours the salt will start to dissolve and absorb into the dough, and the bread will start to dry out and become oily. You can still eat it, it's not harmful, but it won't look as good as it did on that first day.

Can you overproof focaccia dough? You can definitely overproof focaccia, but it is difficult. There is so much oil in the dough, and very little sugar, so the yeast is "sleepy" or slow due to both of those elements and less likely to overproof.

Tips for the perfect homemade Focaccia.

Don't over-knead your dough– In the first step, make sure the dough has come together enough that it's sticky but not smooth, this will help to make the much desired air bubbles.

Like croissants and brioche buns, focaccia is high in calories and fat. Most people aren't aware of it, but it contains a lot of olive oil, which in excess has the same effect. To lose weight, people should choose whole-grain or rye bread, which has more fibre and is lower in fat and calories.

Authentic Italian focaccia is typically made with high-quality flour, extra-virgin olive oil, and sea salt, which gives it a distinctive flavor and texture.

It is thought to have originated with the Etruscans. The earliest focaccia were unleavened flatbreads made from flour, water, and salt. This simple composition meant they could be cooked using any available heat source at the time—most often in the hearth of domestic fires.

Focaccia is basically a deconstructed sourdough loaf. So it's the same ingredients but with a different shape, and you don't actually need to put any effort into shaping it like a traditional sourdough loaf. And an added bonus... there's no need to knead this dough.