I'm Bored, Let's Go...

Focaccia

by

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links.

When I came back from Italy last year I wanted to learn how to make delicious Focaccia at home.  I tried a couple recipes and have settled on this one which has turned out fantastic each time I make it!

I stumbled across a recipe from Emma Fontanella that has a great tutorial on the process of making Focaccia.  Her blog post and video contain detailed instructions that are very thorough so instead of trying to rewrite the process here, I recommend you watch her video so you can see the process and the “stretch and fold” instructions will make sense.  At first it seems a bit overwhelming but in reality it’s quite simple.

I used my kitchen scale the first couple times making this Focaccia recipe and tweaked a few things that seem to work out for me.  I always needed to add more water for one, and decided to put the ingredient amount in standard measurements so I don’t need to pull out the kitchen scale each time.  I also added a little honey to the mix. There’s two options for this Focaccia:  1)  let it develop structure and flavor overnight in the refrigerator – recommended, or 2) bake the same day if your impatient, like me (it’s still fantastic!)

Here’s what the Focaccia looks like prior to baking:

Top the Focaccia with whatever goodies you like… or nothing at all.  The flaked salt is a must!  I like olives, artichoke hearts and rosemary (be sure to oil the rosemary or it will burn).  Sometimes I even add sun dried tomatoes.  However you top it off, it’s such a good snack, or bread for slice in the middle for sandwiches.

Print

Focaccia

Print Recipe

  • Author: Judy

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2.5 C. warm water
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbls. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 2 tsp. dried yeast
  • 4 C. bread flour (12% protein)

Optional Toppings:

  • Rosemary
  • olives
  • artichoke hearts
  • sun dried tomatoes
  • Flaked salt (I use Maldons)

Instructions

  1. Whisk together water, salt, olive oil, honey and yeast.   Stir in bread flour.  The mixture will be very wet and scraggy.  Scrape down the sides, cover and let rest 30 minutes.
  2. After 30 minutes, stretch and fold dough.  With wet hands, take one side of the dough, stretch and fold over the dough to the opposite side of the bowl. Rotate the bowl one quarter and repeat another 3 times for a total of 4 stretch and folds.  Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
  3. Perform 3 more stretch and folds with 30 minute rest in between.
  4. After 4th stretch and fold you have 2 options: 1) cover with plastic wrap and place bowl in refrigerator overnight.  This will develop structure and flavor.  Or 2)  if you’re impatient and want to bake the same day (still delicious!) skip the overnight in the fridge and let the dough sit at room temperature (covered) for 30-40 minutes.
  5. After either the overnight in the refrigerator or the same day method, its time to shape the focaccia in a baking tray.
  6. Into a 9×13 inch tray (at least 2 inches deep) add 3 to 4 tbsp of olive oil. Be generous with the oil, focaccia craves it. Grease the tray well. (If your tray is not non stick, line the bottom with parchment paper before adding the oil.)
  7. Carefully perform one last series of stretches and folds and then gently place the dough into your tray. Drizzle with more olive oil.
  8. Cover well and allow to proof one last time for at least 1 hour.   If you left the dough in the refrigerator overnight, it will be cold so the the dough will need to rise in the tray about 2 hours (instead of 1 hour) at room temperature.
  9. After the final proof, drizzle the dough with more olive oil.  Wet your hands with oil, and gently make dimples in the dough. Jiggle the dough to spread the it out in the pan.  Drizzle a bit more olive oil on top, sprinkle with flaked salt and garnish with other toppings as desired.
  10. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 20-25 minutes.