Focaccia is the most forgiving bread there is. No kneading, no shaping, no skill required, just a wet, olive-oil-rich dough that you fold a few times, dimple all over, and bake until it is golden and airy.
The one thing that matters is keeping the dough wet. It will feel too sticky to handle, and that is exactly right, so resist the urge to add flour. Everything you need is in the recipe below.
Easy Focaccia With Rosemary and Sea Salt
Makes One 20 x 30cm focaccia (serves 8–10)
Prep
30 min
Cook
25 min
Total
55 min
Makes
One 20 x 30cm focaccia (serves 8–10)
Ingredients
For the dough
For the tin and topping
Method
- 1
Whisk the 500g strong white bread flour and the 7g sachet of yeast together in a large bowl. Add the 10g fine salt to the opposite side of the bowl and whisk it in too, keeping it briefly apart from the yeast. Make a well in the middle.
- 2
Pour in the 400ml lukewarm water and 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix with a spoon or your hand until you have a rough, wet, shaggy dough with no dry flour left. It will be sticky and loose. That's correct, so don't add more flour. Cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes.
- 3
With a wet hand, do a set of stretch-and-folds: grab one side of the dough, stretch it up and fold it into the middle, turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat all the way round, four to six folds in total. Cover again.
- 4
Repeat that fold every 10 minutes for three more rounds (about 40 minutes in all). The dough will change from sloppy to smooth, stretchy and stronger each time. (If you'd rather knead, tip it onto a lightly oiled surface and knead for 8–10 minutes instead.)
- 5
Cover the bowl and leave to rise somewhere warm for 1 to 1½ hours, until at least doubled in size and full of bubbles.
- 6
Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into a 20 x 30cm roasting tin or traybake tin and spread it over the base and up the sides. Tip the dough in and gently turn it once to coat in oil. Stretch it out towards the corners with your fingers. If it springs back, leave it 10 minutes and try again.
- 7
Cover loosely and leave to prove a second time for 30–45 minutes, until puffy and wobbly.
- 8
Heat the oven to 220°C fan (240°C conventional, gas mark 9).
- 9
Drizzle 3 tbsp olive oil evenly over the top. Press your oiled fingertips straight down to the bottom of the tin all over the surface, making deep dimples. Scatter over the rosemary leaves and the flaky sea salt.
- 10
Bake for 20–25 minutes, until deep golden on top and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
- 11
Lift onto a wire rack and, if you like, brush the top with a little more olive oil straight from the oven. Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting, as it carries on setting as it cools.
Cook’s notes
- For deeper flavour, do the first two folds then cover and refrigerate the dough overnight (up to 24 hours). Next day, let it come back to room temperature before tipping into the oiled tin and continuing from the second prove.
- This is a plain rosemary and sea salt focaccia, but it takes toppings well. Press in halved cherry tomatoes, thin slices of red onion, olives or slivers of garlic before baking.
- Best eaten the day it's made. Store leftovers in a tin or bag at room temperature for up to two days and refresh in a hot oven for a few minutes.
- To freeze: cool completely, slice, and freeze in a bag. Reheat slices straight from frozen in a hot oven for 4–5 minutes.
What you’ll need
- Large mixing bowl, Big enough for the dough to double
- 20 x 30cm roasting tin or metal traybake tin, Metal browns the base better than glass or ceramic
- Digital kitchen scales, Weighing the water as well as the flour keeps the hydration accurate
- Wire cooling rack
Troubleshooting
The focaccia came out dense and heavy rather than airy.
Usually under-proving or too little water. Make sure the dough is at least doubled and bubbly before it goes in the tin, and weigh the water rather than guessing. Check your yeast is in date.
The dough is too wet and sticky to handle at all.
That's expected at this hydration. Wet your hands and use an oiled tin rather than adding flour. The stretch-and-folds firm it up noticeably over the first 40 minutes.
My dimples disappeared and the top domed up.
Press right down to the base of the tin, not just the surface, and make sure the dough has had its full second prove so it holds the shape. A little collapse is normal; the oil in the dimples reforms them as it bakes.
The base is pale and soft rather than crisp.
Use a metal tin, make sure it's well oiled, and bake on a lower shelf. If your oven runs cool, give it an extra 3–5 minutes until the base sounds hollow.
It stuck to the tin.
Not enough oil in the base. Be generous next time; the focaccia should almost shallow-fry on the bottom. Run a palette knife around the edge and under it while still warm to release.
Frequently asked questions
Written by
UK Homesteading Team
Editorial team
The UK Homesteading editorial team, offering UK-specific, evidence-led guidance on growing, keeping, preserving and the law.
