Take out Tuesday, Easy Focaccia Bread
I am not a bread maker, me of little patience, but not too long ago I got the strongest urge to tackle homemade bread. I am going to save you some time here, by keeping a LONG story VERY short. I will not mention the money I invested in a sour dough starter kit from King Arthur Flour and how I got so frustrated I chucked the entire mess in the trash, along with the ceramic crock. I won’t tell you that even though the crock was super cute, matched my kitchen and could have been re-purposed, that I threw it away because of all the bad memories it held. Nope, all those memories have been banished forever!
I WILL share this recipe for Easy Focaccia Bread that I tweaked and adjusted from several recipes I gathered from allrecipes.com. This is good, this is easy, and this is so adaptable to any ingredients or seasonings you want to add or use. AND you will feel like an accomplished bread maker! Your kitchen will smell like a BAKERY. You are going to LOVE this recipe.
This is the roasted garlic and caramelized onion version. YUMMO!
Here is a close up of all the yumminess! Are you ready to get started?
I love this recipe so much I keep it taped inside a cabinet door. I really have it memorized, but just in case, it’s close by.
a little honey goes into a cup of warm water in a bowl
Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the water
After about 10 minutes it should look foamy and noticeably different. If it DOESN’T then something went wrong, toss it out and try again. This is called proofing and if it doesn’t happen your bread won’t rise baby!
Add the flour and chopped onion and mix until a dough forms
Turn out onto a floured board. Keep it floured, the dough is sticky. I like to put Olive oil on my hands so they don’t get all glucked up with dough when I’m kneading it. WHAT! YOU HAVE TO KNEAD IT? Not really, just for a couple of minutes to make yourself feel like a professional!
Just mush it around and then fold it over on itself a few times, like folding a big, fat puffy pillow, squishing it down…do this until you feel like THE MASTER OF THE BREAD, just kidding, about 5 minutes or until you get bored.
By now you should have a lovely smoothish mound.
Plop into into a bowl that has been coated with Olive oil and turn the dough ball around in the bowl to coat the entire surface with oil to keep it from drying out while it is rising. Cover it with a towel, and stash it in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. I usually stick mine in the microwave or oven. It’s generally warmer in there than on the counter. You can heat your oven for 2 minutes and then turn it off, just to make sure you have a warm spot. Don’t overdo, just a little warmth.
See how happy your dough is?
Okay, this part can be a little tricky because dough tends to be a little stubborn…just patiently convince it to stretch into an even rectangular layer on your olive oil sprayed sheet pan. Go slow, it WILL happen.
Now the FUN BEGINS! Poke some cute little indentations all over the dough with your fingertips and then drizzle with Olive oil and
seasonings of your choice. You can use Italian seasoning, rosemary, any seasoning blend you like! As much or as little as you like! Sprinkle the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes. Bake it at 415 for about 12-15 minutes, until it turns golden.
at this point you can top with some Parmesan and some additional cheese and return it to the oven for 2 minutes to melt or
if you’re using roasted garlic* and caramelized onions* now’s the time to top the bread with that.
Squeeze the garlic directly from the roasted clove onto the bread and spread it in a thin layer with the back of a spoon
Top with onions, sprinkle with cheese and return to oven for 2-3 minutes for everything to melt together.
*Caramelize the onions by slowly cooking them in a skillet in butter and olive oil over low heat for about 30 minutes, until golden.
*Roast the garlic by cutting off the top of the head, drizzling with olive oil, and wrapping in foil and baking at 400 for 1 hour
Here’s the recipe:
EASY FOCACCIA BREAD
Ingredients
- 1 T honey
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 pkg active dry yeast
- 1 T Kosher salt
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- olive oil
- Fresh shaved Parmesan grated fontina, Havarti, Gouda, white cheddar or Jack
- chopped rosemary italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder or minced garlic
Instructions
- Combine water with honey in a large bowl and stir to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast over and let sit 5-10 min until foamy.
- add 1,T olive oil, salt, diced onion and flour and stir until dough forms.
- Turn out onto a floured board. Wash bowl and pour in another T or so of olive oil and use fingers to oil the inside surface. Stick your oily fingers into the flour and knead the bread about 5 min, adding flour as necessary to the board to prevent sticking. Place the dough into the oiled bowl, cover with a towel and place in a warm spot to rise, about 30 min. [should be about double]
- Oil a baking sheet and place dough on it, stretching and flattening until rectangular shaped, and covering the baking sheet. Make evenly spaced indentations with your finger tips, about 1 inch apart. drizzle bread with more OO and sprinkle with herbs of choice, Kosher salt and some of the Parmesan. Let rest while preheating oven to 415 degrees.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until just golden. Remove from oven and turn oven off. Sprinkle with more Parmesan and other cheese and return to oven for 1-2 minutes until cheese has melted.
- Let bread cool. When ready to serve, slice into 1 inch wide strips. Also fabulous for sandwiches, cut into a square and carefully halved, toast before filling if desired or use as panini.
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This looks delicious! Made my mouth water! Thanks for visiting Pandora’s Box – hope you’ll come back!
You make focaccua bread look easy! Sorry you had a bad day with your bread making. I’ve never really had luck making bread either. Yummy toppings………
~Emily
The French Hutch
I am a bread lover all the way. Looks delicious
Oh my goodness. Your version does sound incredible. I know I would love this.
Hi Jenna! I know this post is old, really really old (like me!), but I’m hoping you keep up with comments and see this one…. and then try out my super simple, absolutely stunning foccacia bread recipe. Trust me, it’s fabulous and easy!
Starting Notes: You’ll need a 9×13 baking pan or lasagna pan. No glass pans please. You’ll also need plenty of olive oil. 1/4 cup for the bottom of the pan and more to slick the top of the dough two times.
You can use any toppings on this! The more the merrier in my house. (Hubby calls my creations Foccacia Pizza)
Other Starting Notes: Plan to make this one whole day in advance of when you plan to bake and serve. Seriously, this is a stir, slick with oil, cover, refrigerate and forget it bread dough. A day later, take it out, dump it in an oil slicked pan, slick the top again and leave it alone to do its thing. Come back in 4 hours, dimple it, top it and immediately bake it!
Super Simple Foccacia Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast (I like to use “bread” yeast in the little brown jar)
2 cups lukewarm water, made by combining 1/2 cup boiling water with 1 1/2 cups cold water
Combine all 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir using the handle of a wooden spoon just till all the flour is mixed in. It will be soft, sticky and a bit lumpy and ugly!
Add some olive oil to the bowl, then flip the dough over and around till it’s all coated with oil. Top the bowl with plastic wrap, then cover it tightly with a lid or foil and put it in your refrigerator for 24 hours. Ignore it! Pretend it’s not even in there!
24 Hours Later:
Pour 1/4 cup Olive Oil into a 9×13 metal baking pan. Slosh it around to coat the bottom and sides.
Now get the Forgotten Dough out of the fridge and dump it into the pan. Don’t move it around or touch it, just dump it in a big heap in the middle of the pan. Slick the top with yet more olive oil so that it won’t dry out while it sits and does it’s thing.
Set it in a warm place, uncovered, for 4 hours. If your house is REALLY warm, check it at 3 hours. It should be all spread out and have risen and puffed up.
Preheat your oven to 425F.
Use your fingers to dimple the dough. Then top with anything you like, drizzle with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle on some coarse salt.
Pop it straight into your hot oven and bake for 25 minutes or till golden brown.
And that’s it, cut and enjoy the best foccacia you can make this side of Italy!
It took me 5 years to figure out a recipe that was foolproof and wouldn’t leave me frustrated and ready to toss out my bowl, my dough, my baking pans and possibly even my cat with my failures. You can do this! And maybe we’ll even get you making sourdough starter too.
Wow Toni, thanks so much for sharing your recipe, it sounds wonderful!!