Focaccia, oh wonderful focaccia. It has been one of my favorite breads since I first tried it about 25 years ago. I was on a business trip and having dinner at this Italian restaurant. They brought out a basket of bread and some olive oil. It was different from all the rolls and bread with butter I was used to getting in restaurants. I took one bite and that was it. I am sure I ate two baskets of focaccia that evening. I do not even remember the dinner. All I cared about was the bread.
It was a while before I saw focaccia in my area. The south had to catch up. Biscuits, cornbread, and white bread prevailed. Then I started to see it offered by restaurants and occasionally in bakeries and grocery stores. I always wanted to make it but for what ever reason I did not. That is until I received a tweet from Shulie about baking focaccia in May for Breaking Bread. It was the perfect reason for me to make it.
I looked for a simple recipe. There were some I found where it took a couple of days to make and had many steps. I thought I would wait to use one of those recipes later. The recipe I chose is one from King Arthur Flour. I liked that it had a touch of whole wheat flour as an ingredient. I adapted the recipe to add toppings and to reflect my method.
My first attempt was not successful. I overworked the dough. It came out of the oven tough and too thin. I had to re-group and think about the texture of focaccia. It should be light and airy and not dense or chewy. I realized kneading it with my stand mixer was a mistake. This is a bread that needs be done by hand.
The second attempt was a great success. It came out exactly how I wanted. My husband said it was as good as or better than any he has had in the finest of restaurants. It was thick enough to where I could slice it and use it for sandwiches or paninis. It disappeared quick. The good thing is because it is so easy I can make focaccia often. I see many variations with different toppings in the future.
I chose rosemary for the topping. The scent of rosemary is incredible. I have a large bush in my front yard and I will walk by and rub my hands on it. I clip it often and use it whenever a recipe calls for fresh herbs. The flavor is as nice as the smell. It can get overwhelming so be careful of the amount you use in cooking and baking. Use the amount to your preference for this recipe.
Do you like to bake bread? If so, be sure to check out this post on the Breaking Bread Society. Lora, Shulie, and Marnley have started this wonderful initiative to inspire people to bake bread. Thank you ladies for inspiring me to make focaccia for the first time. It was a great experience and I learned more about baking.
Special thanks to tbg design for the beautiful artwork created for this post.
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Rosemary Focaccia
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey
- 1 cup warm water 110 to 115 degrees F
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus or minus as needed
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Fresh rosemary about 1 to 2 tablespoons, chopped
- Sea salt
- Fresh ground/cracked pepper
Instructions
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In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Add 1/4 cup of the all-purpose flour and whisk to combine. Let yeast mixture sit for 10 minutes to activate yeast.
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Add the salt and the whole wheat flour. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Add the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
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Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough, adding more flour as necessary, until the dough has formed a smooth ball. Place the dough in a oiled bowl and turn to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let the dough rise in a draft-free place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in bulk.
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Grease a half-sheet pan (10 X 13 X 1-inch) and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on the pan. Place the dough on the pan and gently stretch to fit the pan. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F while the dough is rising. After the second rise, dimple it with your fingers. Drizzle the remaining olive oil on the dough. Top with chopped fresh rosemary, sea salt, and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Cool on rack. Slice into rectangles or squares.
Recipe Notes
A recipe for focaccia bread made with fresh rosemary.
Jen @ Juanita's Cocina says
I do the same thing with my rosemary plant!!!
Focaccia is on my foodie bucket list. It’s always been so intimidating to me! Yours looks amazing!
Renee says
Thank Jen! I am glad I finally baked focaccia. Do not be intimidated – go for it and I am sure it will turn out great.
Terry says
Rosemary is my favorite scent, but I don’t love the flavor, except in breads. A little goes a very long way in food. I think most of the time it is overdone.
The smell of the fresh herb oil is hypnotic to me.
I love a rosemary sourdough. Renee and I had some out in Napa.
Renee says
You are right, a little rosemary goes a long way and it does seem to go very well in breads.
foodwanderings says
Hi Renee, I love that you baked the classic. I think that is the first focaccia I ever had and now am alternating between rosemary and olive but never together 🙂 It turned out just gorgeous! Love the artwork! So happy you are #breakingbread with us this month!
Renee says
I do want to make more focaccia and olive is on my list of toppings. So many choices of what can go on focaccia. I can see lots of bread baking ahead.
amy @ fearless homemaker says
oh wow, it looks like your focaccia turned out absolutely amazing! we grow rosemary, too, + it’s Skylar’s favorite bush to run through in the yard – then she’ll smell like rosemary for the rest of the afternoon. gotta love that the pupster has good taste in herbs! =)
Renee says
That is great your dog Skylar likes to run through rosemary. Sure beats what my hounds like to roll in. I will have to rub rosemary on my hounds and see what it is like. Natural doggie “perfume”.
Lane @ Supper for a Steal says
I have never baked focaccia and I am a little scared of any bread at the moment. My last bread experience was not favorable. But this looks so good I may have to overcome my fear and give it a try.
Renee says
Do not be scared of baking bread. Sometimes it just takes a few tries. Once you get it right then you know how dough should feel and it seems to go much better each time.
Lora @cakeduchess says
Your focaccia turned out perfectly, Renee. I like how you didn’t give up and tried again. Look at these fantastic results! So worth the effort, I think, to bake your own bread when you can. The artwork is lovely and beautiful for this post.:)Thanks for baking along with us this month. Happy we inspired you:)
Renee says
Thank you Lora! I am honored to have Terry’s artwork on my blog. She is so talented.
Terra says
So beautiful! Rosemary focaccia is my most favorite, I love dipping it in delicious olive oil and pepper:-) Beautiful, Hugs, Terra
Renee says
Thanks Terra! I also enjoy dipping foccacia in olive oil. I want to find a good spice blend to have in the oil for the next time.
Sandra's Easy Cooking says
Beautiful! Love focaccia, and yours look absolutely amazing! Great post!!!!
Renee says
Thank you Sandra!
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes says
Your focaccia sounds wonderful. My daughter especially would love the rosemary.
Renee says
Thank you Barbara. You should make it for your daughter or the two of you make it together. Fun in the kitchen with family.
Alaiyo says
Your blog is one of the most beautiful blogs I’ve ever seen. The design is just gorgeous along with the photos, layout, the writing, everything. I’m salivating as I read about this bread. It’s been at least a year since I’ve tasted Focaccia, and I can imagine how fabulous it is with rosemary. Kudos!
Alaiyo
Renee says
Thank you so much for your very kind words. You made me smile from ear to ear!
Soni says
Ooh I love Focaccia and can imagine the lovely rosemary flavors in every bite of this!Never baked a bread before (yes!)I really admire bread bakers out there like you Renee 🙂
Renee says
Thank you Soni! You should try baking bread sometime. It is really worth it.
Karen Hartzell says
I love focaccia bread. I wish I had more time to bake. Your picture looks amazing and I am sure it tastes that way as well!
balvinder ( Neetu) says
I like your painting of rosemary twig and the foccacia as well. I did enjoy reading your gardening posts. All together a nice blog to follow.
Renee says
The painting was done by my very talented friend Terry of tbgdesign. It is beautiful and really my favorite part of this post.
Karriann says
This could be my breakfast for days!
“Happy Cooking”
Renee says
Thanks Karriann! It was so good. I want to make it again soon for more meals and sandwiches too.
Liz says
I’ve only tried to make focaccia once and it wasn’t great. Good to know I might have just overkneaded. Bread is my favorite food group so I must try again 🙂 Yours looks perfect~
Renee says
I hope you do give baking focaccia another try. Too much kneading seems to make it tough. I had to use a lot of restraint for it as opposed to other breads.
Baker Street says
Rosemary is an excellent choice. You chose well, Renee! I too was extremely scared of over doing the batter but in the end it all worked out fine. Glad you gave it a second try. It looks light and delicious. 🙂
Renee says
Thank you! Rosemary just seemed to be the right herb for me to use for focaccia. It smelled heavenly in the house while it was baking. That alone made it worth baking bread at home.
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
I absolutely LOVE rosemary in breads. . totally going to try this one!
Renee says
Thanks Alice and it is one of my favorite herbs in breads too.