Description
I have provided two ways to create this recipe, one for a stand mixer and a no machine/no knead version.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 teaspoon – active dry yeast
- 360g (1 ½ cups) – warm water, 100° Fahrenheit, divided
- 438g (3 ½ cups) – bread flour, spooned, leveled and sifted I used King Arthur’s Bread Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon – kosher salt
- 30g (2 tablespoons) – extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
Toppings (This is what I used, but you can use whatever you like!)
- 45g (3 tablespoon) – extra virgin olive oil
- 2–3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1–2 rosemary sprigs, roughly chopped
- Flakey salt
Equipment
- Food scale, highly recommend but also optional https://amzn.to/3rOY0vF
- Stand mixer
- Damp cloth or plastic wrap
- Large mixing bowl
- 9x13” sheet pan
Instructions
Making the dough with a stand mixer:
- Combine 120g (½ cup) of warm water and active dry yeast in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast, and set aside for 10 minutes to bloom. See notes
- Meanwhile, combine the bread flour and kosher salt, in a bowl of a stand mixer.
- When the yeast is ready, add it to the bowl, along with the remaining 240g (1 cup) of warm water, and olive oil.
- Using the dough hook attachment, mix the ingredients on low until it is well combined. Scrape down the bowl if you need to.
- Turn up the speed to medium and continue to mix for 10-12 more minutes until you get a smooth consistency, and the dough starts pulling away from the bowl. This dough will not turn into a ball because it is a high-hydration dough, and it will be much stickier to work with. See notes
- When the dough is ready, stop the stand mixer, and grease another large bowl with another 2 tablespoons of olive oil. With a silicone bowl scraper or rubber spatula, transfer the dough into the greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, and set it in a warm spot in your kitchen. Allow the dough to proof for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size. See notes
Prep toppings and sheet pan:
- While you wait for the dough to rise, prep the toppings. I like to infuse the garlic and rosemary in the olive oil to give it a better flavor and aroma. Set aside until ready to use.
- Also, drizzle olive oil into a 9×13-inch sheet pan until the bottom is covered. You’ll need this to be heavily greased, so that the dough will not stick.
Shaping and second proofing:
- When the dough has doubled in size, grease your hands with olive oil. Perform a stretch and fold by grabbing a “corner” of the dough in the bowl. Gently lift it straight up to stretch the dough as high as it will go without tearing and fold over to the other side. Rotate the bowl and repeat 3 more stretch and folds. Once completely folded, turn the dough over onto itself and transfer it to the greased sheet pan. See notes
- Next, with oiled hands, work the focaccia dough to the edges by gently stretching it. If the dough is springing back, cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before gently working it to the edges again.
- Grease the inside of plastic wrap and cover the focaccia. This will make it that the plastic will not stick to the dough. Proof the dough for 30-45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, adjust the racks in the oven. Place one on the bottom and one at the top. Then preheat the oven to 450° Fahrenheit. At the end of proofing, the dough should be well risen and puffy with gas bubbles. See notes
Optionally, you can do a cold fermentation by allowing the dough to proof in the fridge for 12-16 hours. This will develop more flavors to the dough. Let it sit at room temp for 30 min – 1 hour before moving to the next step. This is the time to preheat the oven to 450° Fahrenheit.
Dimpling and add toppings:
- Gently remove the plastic from the dough, you should have no problems with the dough sticking if you greased the plastic properly. Oil your fingertips with more olive oil, and gently dimple the proofed dough by gently pushing to the bottom. Try not to break through the bottom of the dough. Continue to dimple all over the dough.
- Take your toppings and evenly spoon it over the surface of the dough. Get into those crevices too!
Bake and serve!
- First bake the focaccia on the bottom rack for 20 minutes. This will create a nice crispy bottom.
- Next, transfer it to the top rack and bake for another 5 minutes. This will get a nice browned surface.
- After baking, allow the focaccia to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer it to a wire cooling rack to completely cool. You can cut it up and serve as is, or cut it in half to make for a delicious sandwich! Enjoy!
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No Machine/No Knead Version:
Making dough by hand:
- Combine 120g (½ cup) of warm water and active dry yeast in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast, and set aside for 10 minutes to bloom.
- Meanwhile, combine the bread flour and kosher salt, in a large bowl.
- When the yeast is ready, add it to the bowl, along with the remaining 240g (1 cup) of warm water, and olive oil.
- Using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir the ingredients together until no dry flour remains in the bowl and a cohesive mass forms. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap, for 20 minutes to rest.
- After 20 minutes, grease your hands with a bit of olive oil. Perform a stretch and fold by grabbing a “corner” of the dough in the bowl. Gently lift it straight up to stretch the dough as high as it will go without tearing and fold over to the other side. Rotate the bowl and repeat 3 more stretch and folds, cover and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Repeat this 3 more times, with a 30 minute rest inbetween. You’ll perform 4 stretch and folds in total.
After each set of stretch and fold, the dough will start to tighten up, which is an indication of gluten development. And after the 4th set of stretch and folds, you’ll notice that the dough is smoother than when you first started.
Shaping and proofing:
- Prep a 9×13-inch sheet pan by drizzling olive oil until the bottom is covered. You’ll need this to be heavily greased, so that the dough will not stick to it.
- After the last set of stretch and fold, turn the dough over onto itself, so that the bottom is now on the top, and transfer it to the greased sheet pan.
- Next, with oiled hands, work the focaccia dough to the edges by gently stretching it. If the dough is springing back, cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before gently working it to the edges again.
- Grease the inside of plastic wrap and cover the focaccia dough. This will make it that the plastic will not stick to the dough. Proof the dough for 30-45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, adjust the racks in the oven. Place one on the bottom and one at the top. Then preheat the oven to 450° Fahrenheit. At the end of proofing, the dough should be well risen and puffy with gas bubbles.
Optionally, you can do a cold fermentation by allowing the dough to proof in the fridge for 12-16 hours. This will develop more flavors to the dough. Let it sit at room temp for 30 min – 1 hour before moving to the next step. This is the time to preheat the oven to 450° Fahrenheit.
Dimpling and add toppings:
- Gently remove the plastic from the dough, you should have no problems with the dough sticking if you greased the plastic properly. Oil your fingertips with more olive oil, and gently dimple the proofed dough by gently pushing to the bottom. Try not to break through the bottom of the dough. Continue to dimple all over the dough.
- Take your toppings and evenly spoon it over the surface of the dough. Get into those crevices too!
Bake and serve!
- First bake the focaccia on the bottom rack for 20 minutes. This will create a nice crispy bottom.
- Next, transfer it to the top rack and bake for another 5 minutes. This will get a nice browned surface.
- After baking, allow the focaccia to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer it to a wire cooling rack to completely cool. You can cut it up and serve as is, or cut it in half to make for a delicious sandwich! Enjoy!
Notes
- Weighing your ingredients. I’ve always said this in almost all my baking recipes, but I highly recommend using a food scale for a recipe like this. Food scales is way more accurate than using measuring cups. For a recipe like this, I’m more about precision, and a food scale helps with that.
- Baking pan. This recipe is fitted for a 9×13-inch pan. However, if you have a slightly smaller pan, this recipe will still work, you’ll just get a thicker bread. If you have a bigger pan, you’ll have to double the recipe.
- How to tell if your yeast has bloomed. It should smell very yeasty, and a bit foamy at the top.
- Make sure your yeast is active. If you’re wondering if your yeast is alive, good news, you can easily test it out. Combine about 1/4 of warm water with a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, and then mix in about a 1/2 teaspoon of yeast. (Yeast loves to feed on sugar!) Allow it to sit for 10 minutes, and it should be bubbly, foamy, and smell very “yeasty”. If you don’t see any sort of activity, it’s probably dead. Get yourself some fresh yeast.
- High hydration, sticky dough. Focaccia dough is a very sticky and very hydrated dough. So don’t be alarmed if your dough is not coming together as it should with a regular bread recipe.
- Proofing (or rise) time depends on climate. The proofing time will depend on the climate you are living in. The time in the instructions is an estimate, for me I made this dough during winter, so it took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. For those who live in warmer climates, it might take only an hour. So, I highly recommend paying attention to the size of the dough. If it’s doubled in size, it’s ready.
- Stretch and folds. Click here to watch a video from King Arthur on how to perform a stretch and fold. Stretch and folds are what artisan bread bakers use to improve the quality of their bread. It’s a gentle way to strengthen and develop gluten, and to incorporate air into the dough without kneading. This method is perfect for a focaccia because the dough is at a very high hydration. It would be impossible to knead by hand.
- Why do we need to move the oven racks? I learned this from Claire Saffitz’ focaccia recipe, she first bakes the focaccia on the lower rack to get a nice crispy bottom, then finishes it by transferring it to the top rack to get a nice golden color on the top. I just love how it came out, it was delicious and crispy all over.
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