Focaccia bread is a flat oven-baked, no knead Italian bread similar in style and texture to pizza dough. Focaccia bread can be used as a side to many meals or as sandwich bread. This is one of the easiest bread you can make at home as there is no kneading required and you have to just follow a simple process
Want to know the secret to incredible focaccia bread every time? A cold, refrigerator rise. This focaccia bread recipe is nearly foolproof and incredibly delicious. It's one of my favorite breads to make, during winters to serve with soups, and I love it in the summer to use for sandwiches. It takes 5 minutes to stir together the dough, but remember: you have to plan ahead as it needs that overnight, refrigerator rise.
Ingredients
Yeast Activation
Lukewarm Water – 150 ml
Sugar – 1 Tablespoon
Yeast – 1 Teaspoon
All Purpose Flour – 600 Grams
Lukewarm Water – 250 ml
Salt – 1 Teaspoon
Olive Oil – 3 Teaspoons
Olive Oil – 1 Tablespoon for oiling the bowl
Salt – 1 or 2 teaspoons
Vegetables of your choice
Step 1 - Activation of Yeast
1) To a bowl, take 150 ml of lukewarm water
2) Then add 1 tablespoon of sugar, mix the sugar till it dissolves in the water.
3) Add half teaspoon of dry yeast, the yeast will feed on the sugar which will help it to get activated. This may take around 15- 20 minutes.
Step 2 - Prepping the Dough
1) To a bigger bowl, add 600 grams of all-purpose flour.
2) Add 250 ml of lukewarm water to a fresh bowl,
3) Add 1 teaspoon of salt and give it a slight mix.
4) Now to the flour bowl, make a small pit & add 3 teaspoons of olive oil to the bowl.
5) Then add the lukewarm water along with the yeast water to the bowl. The hydration percentage of this dough will be around 75%, so don’t feel overwhelmed.
6) Combine everything well. Sometimes it’s good to get your hands dirty and in this case it is necessary.
7) Pinch the dough, lift it and fold.
Step 3 - Lift & Fold
1) Take a fresh bowl, and add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, brush it across the bowl evenly.
2) Once done, shift the dough to this well oiled bowl. Now we are going to lift and fold the dough which will introduce air into the dough and also help to form gluten. Perform this 3-4 times until you have completed a full turn.
The dough will be sticky and it’s normal.
3) Now cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 20 minutes and then repeat the entire folding process again.
4) Fold the dough 3-4 times.
5) Cover it with a transparent film.
6) Keep it in refrigerator to let it rise overnight
Step 4 - The last rise
1) Next morning, take out the film, and as you will see the dough has doubled in size.
2) Drizzle a good amount of oil into the baking tray and brush it evenly across the pan.
3) Now shift the dough to the baking tray.
4) Massage the dough and spread it across the pan. If the dough is sticking to your fingers, dip them in water in between and it will help. Be gentle with the dough & don’t push it too much.
5) Cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes and then try again as it will continue to rise.
6) The aim is to move the dough towards every corner of the pan.
7) Cover the pan with plastic film or towel.
8) Now place it in oven for 1 hour for it to rise again.
9) After 2 hours, remove the plastic film and as you can see the dough has risen beautifully.
10) Now we are going to give dimples to the focaccia dough, so put your fingers in the dough but don’t do it too harshly as you can deflate the focaccia bread.
11) Cover the pan and let the dough rise for 1 hour again.
Step 5 - Seasoning & decorating the Focaccia
1) Now you can see air bubbles on top of it. The dough is now your blank canvas, you can either dress it in a very minimal way like some rosemary and garlics or go free.
2) I am just using few vegetables like- carrot, mushrooms, radishes, oregano leaves to decorate the bread.
3) I have also cooked cloves of garlics in olive oil and going to add to the bread, this will add great flavor to the bread.
4) Sprinkle some pink Himalayan salt on top of the bread. You can use any salt of your choice.
Step 6 - Baking Focaccia
1) Place the tray in a preheated oven for 20 mins over 220 C.
2) After 20 minutes, the focaccia bread is ready.
3) Pop the bread out of the tray and let it rest on a wire rack.
4) Let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
Now slice the focaccia bread from center and see the amazing airy pockets.
Just look at that. The bread is crispy from the top and so soft from the inside.
So so fluffy, look at those pockets and at the back it looks nice and brown.
It's one of my favorite breads to make, during winters to serve with soups, and I love it in the summer to use for sandwiches. I usually end up finishing it within two days. Drizzle some olive oil and some more Himalayan salt and enjoy the delicious and soft focaccia bread. This is perfect on its own but also really good for sandwiches too.
New Vegan Online Cooking Course, Register Here also don't forget to grab the FREE VEGAN Recipe GUIDE HERE
