Description
With a handful of simple ingredients and some dedicated time in the refrigerator, you can easy homemade focaccia bread right at home! Chewy, soft, flavorful, and 100% irresistible!
Ingredients
Scale
- 500 gm (4 cups, spoon and leveled) bread flour
- 7 gm (2 1/4 teaspoons or 1 standard packet) instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 480 gm (2 cups) lukewarm water*
- 6 tablespoons high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Flakey salt, for topping
- 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, optional
Instructions
- Add the bread flour to a large bowl. Add the yeast and kosher salt to opposite sides of the bowl, keeping the two ingredients separate at first. Use your fingers to work the dry ingredients together until combined, then create a well in the center of the bowl. Pour the lukewarm water into the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together, until a wet, shaggy dough forms.
- Drizzle 30 gm (2 tablespoons) olive oil over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to rub the oil over the surface of the dough, then wiggle the dough from the edges of the bowl, allowing oil to coat the sides and bottom of the dough. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 18 hours, up to 72 hours.
- When your dough is ready to come out of the fridge, spray a 9×13″ baking pan with non-stick spray and drizzle 30 gm (2 tablespoons) olive oil in the center of the pan; set aside.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, and working around the edges of the bowl, use your fingers to pull the edges of the dough towards the center and push down, rotating the bowl as you work. Continue this motion until the dough forms into a ball.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan. Turn the dough a few times so that the entire surface is coated in the olive oil. Leave to rise in a warm, draft-free place, uncovered, for 3 to 4 hours, until the dough is nearly filling the pan. Towards the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Drizzle the remaining 30 g (2 tablespoons) olive oil over the surface of the dough and use your fingers to rub all over the surface, then sprinkle the chopped rosemary evenly over the dough.
- Next, use our fingers to press straight down into the dough, going almost to the bottom of the pan, to create deep dimples all over the dough. If the dough isn’t quite reaching the corners of the pan, gently pull the dough while you create the dimples to encourage it to fill the pan. If bubbles pop up on the surface, that’s okay- just leave them! Sprinkle flakey salt over the surface.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and pulling away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer the focaccia from the pan to a wire rack to prevent the bottom from getting soggy (TIP: I like to use a large metal spatula for this). Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
*For lukewarm water: combine 360 gm (1 ½ cups) cold water with 120 gm (1/2 cup) boiling water
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Leftovers are great for toasted paninis, breakfast sandwiches, and toasted sandwiches!
Recipe adapted from Alexandra Stafford’s “Overnight Refrigerator Focaccia”