We can’t think of many things that smell better than focaccia in the oven. Those 20 minutes you have to wait for it to be done can be so long! But it is totally worth the wait, and a piece of freshly baked focaccia is something to die for. Whether it is for breakfast with some fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, to dip in a yummy soup or just on its own, this Focaccia recipe will surely make you want more, more, more!!!
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- Total Time: 2,5 hours
Ingredients
For the garlic-infused oil:
- 1 dl / 1/2 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
For the dough:
- 350 g / 2 1/2 cups white flour
- 1 packet of dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp honey or brown sugar
- 2,5 dl / 1 cup luke warm water
- 1/2 tsp seasalt
- 1 tsp Maldon salt or flaky salt to sprinkle over in the end
Instructions
- Start off by putting the olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic and black pepper in a small casserolle, and heat it up on low heat for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure it doesn’t boil or burn the garlic
- Mix the water, yeast and honey (or sugar) together, and let sit for about 10 minutes, to activate the yeast
- Put in half of the flour, and 4 tablespoons of the garlic oil, mix it quickly and let it sit for 5 minutes
- Then put in the remaining flour and the salt
- Mix it well either by hand or with a kitchen machine, until the dough is smooth, and a little bit sticky. If it is too sticky, put in some more flour and mix
- Pour the dough onto a floured surface, and knead it carefully so that it gets smooth. You really don’t need to knead it much
- Put the dough into an oiled big bowl, and put a damp towel over it
- Let it sit to rise for 1 hour
- Use 2 tablespoons of the oil to oil an ovenproof baking dish. The dish should be around 23 x 35 cm.
- After it has risen to about twice the size, pour the dough into the ovenproof baking dish. The dough should be really oily.
- Push out the dough, making sure it covers the whole dish, and make small dimples in it. If you want to add something to it to add more flavor like tomatoes or olives, now is a good time to do that. Just push it a bit into the dough.
- Pour over the remaining olive oil and garlic. Let it rise for around 30 more minutes.
- At this time, you can set your oven to 230 °C / 450 °F.
- Put the ready dough into your oven, and bake for 20 minutes, until it is beautifully golden brown. Your kitchen will smell amazing! Sprinkle over the flaky sea salt, and enjoy!
Notes
We like to use a fan oven for this recipe. We put the dish a little bit higher than the middle in the oven, and then for the last 5 minutes of the baking time, we crank it over to the grill elements. If you don’t have a fan oven, just put the dish lower, so that it doesn’t burn.
There are so many things you can do to add more flavor. In the photos of this recipe, we have used black olives and sun-dried tomatoes. You can also use fresh cherry tomatoes, basil, feta cheese, only your imagination sets the limits to what you can add. Let us know in the comments below!
There are so many ways to serve this delicious focaccia! Either just on its own, to an italian snack plate, with a nice, warm soup, or as a sandwich.
- Prep Time: 2 hours + 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes