Last Updated on June 13, 2024
This Easy Italian Focaccia Recipe with garlic, rosemary and tomatoes is the perfect comfort food for chilly winter days. Whether you’re having a cozy night in with friends, or just want to satisfy your inner baker. This warm and aromatic crusty bread is sure to fulfil all your needs.
Traditionally, focaccia is an oven-baked Italian flatbread made with garlic, olive oil, herbs, salt, and sometimes other flavorful ingredients.
With this vegan and sugar-free focaccia recipe, you’ll learn how to make this delicious Italian bread simply at home!
This rustic-style bread has a distinctly crunchy exterior and chewy center that pairs marvelously with your favorite sauces or dips. Follow our easy step-by-step guide and let us guide you through making this scrumptious Italian classic!
Focaccia Recipe
Focaccia bread, sometimes written as “Foccacia bread“, is an Italian-style flatbread that makes a great addition to any meal.
It can be served as an appetizer, or as a side dish for lunch or dinner. It takes only a few ingredients and is easy to prepare. This simple recipe combines fresh rosemary, roasted garlic, olive oil, and flaky sea salt.
Fresh herbs, roasted garlic, and cherry tomatoes as the focaccia toppings, to give it lots of flavor and texture. However, you can also use a mix of oregano, basil, and thyme to add different notes.
A splash of olive oil provides some much-needed crunch and moisture, blending all the ingredients together perfectly.
What Does Focaccia Taste Like?
This popular Italian flatbread has a delicious, savory taste. Focaccia dough is made from flour, water, olive oil, sea salt, and yeast. It’s usually baked in an oven with some herbs and other ingredients added to the top.
On the inside, focaccia has a soft and slightly chewy texture, while on the outside, olive oil gives it a crunchy texture.
The flavors of focaccia bread may vary depending on what type of ingredients are used when baking it.
Some common flavors include vegan bacon bits, olives, rosemary, oregano, garlic, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, and onion.
Easy Foccacia Recipe
For the focaccia dough:
- All-Purpose Flour (The best flour is farina 00)
- Active Dry Yeast– make sure your dry yeast is not expired as it will affect the fermentation process (proof).
- Olive Oil
- Flaky Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
- Warm Water – (around 80-90°F) If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
For the focaccia toppings:
- Tomatoes– fresh cherry, grape, or plum tomatoes.
- Fresh Rosemary
- Garlic Bulb
Preparation For Focaccia Dough
- Roast the garlic first (oven or air fryer) – Preheat oven to 400°F/200 C. Cut the top of a head of garlic and drizzle with 1 tbsp/15ml olive oil. Wrap with aluminum foil and bake for 35-45 minutes until browned and fragrant then turn the oven off.
- Before you begin making the focaccia, it is important to gather all of the ingredients needed. In a large bowl combine 1 1/3 cup (314ml) warm water with ¼ cup (30g) of the flour. Stir to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast on top and set aside to get foamy, about 10-15 minutes.
- Stir in the rest of the flour, olive oil, and salt. Mix in until a dough forms.
- Turn out on a very lightly floured surface. Knead for 5-7 minutes until smooth and stretchy.
How to Make Focaccia Bread
5. Place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Allow to rise until a little over doubled (60-90 minutes depending on the ambient temperature).
6. While the dough is rising, prep the toppings. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, use a blunt knife or peel and squeeze out the roasted cloves. Try to keep them as intact as possible. Slice the tomatoes in half. Finely chop the rosemary.
7. Add ¼ cup/60ml olive oil to a 9”x13”/22.5cm x 32.5cm. Spread out evenly and place the dough in. Turn over several times to completely cover in oil. Stretch out with your fingers to the corners.
8. Cover again and allow to rise until 1.5x the size (30-60 minutes). While rising, heat the oven again to 450°F/230 C. Using oiled fingers, push lots of dimples into the dough. Press cloves (or small bits) of roasted garlic into some of the dimples. Press the halved tomatoes in the cut side up. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary and salt.
Focaccia Bread Baking
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown and very firm. Allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack, and resting for at least another 20 minutes before cutting and serving.
Best eaten on the same day, but you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Tips For Making Focaccia Recipe
When it comes to baking focaccia bread, there are a few tips and tricks you can use to ensure perfect results.
Serving Suggestions
The unique flavor and texture of this bread make it a delicious and enjoyable addition to any meal or soup. You can serve focaccia plain, or stuffed with tomato onion cucumber salad, falafel, or pan-fried chickpeas with vegan sour cream.
You can also serve it as an appetizer by cutting it into slices. Serving with dips such as lemon herb tahini or vegan tzatziki sauce, or pair it with a bowl of soup, gazpacho, green sauce pasta, or zesty Italian pasta salad.
The best part of it, you can use leftover focaccia for your vegan garlic bread. It can also be toasted and served for breakfast or brunch.
Before You Go…
This homemade Italian Focaccia Recipe tastes so good and is also a great way to use up any extra ingredients you have lying around the house.
It makes for a delicious side dish or snack and is simple to customize with your favorite herbs and spices.
Now that you have the skills, try experimenting with different variations of this recipe.
You can get creative and come up with some unique additions like caramelized onion, black pepper, or olives. Try substituting different flours, spices, and herbs to give the focaccia an interesting twist. Enjoy!
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