Best Focaccia Bread | Homemade Focaccia Bread
Focaccia bread is an Italian bread recipe. It is a thick, spongy and soft flatbread with a crispier exterior. Usually, it uses olive oil, garlic and herbs for seasoning and sometimes veggies for the toppings.
Ingredients
- 200 gm refined flour
- 200 gm whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil or more if needed
- 5-6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 pc green chili chopped
- ¼ cup olives diced
- ¼ onions diced
- ¼ cup bell peppers diced
- 1/4 tsp chili flakes
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- some kosher salt or pink salt
- 350 ml water adjust as needed
Instructions
Yeast Activation
- Firstly, to activate yeast take lukewarm water, add sugar, and add yeast to it.
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- The yeast would have frothed within 10 minutes.
Topping for Focaccia Bread
- Lightly sauté garlic and green chilies.
- Secondly sauté the bell peppers and onions.
Kneading dough for Focaccia Bread
- Meanwhile in a mixing bowl take plain flour and wholewheat flour and salt
- Plunge in some Italian herbs, sautéed garlic and chilies.
- Make a well in the middle of flour and add the yeast solution. Mix gently with hand or with electric mixer.
- Add enough water so that the dough is soft, smooth and elastic.
- Turn out the dough on to a work surface and knead for a few minutes. Use stretch and fold method.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil and knead dough until smooth.
First Rise
- Keep this dough covered in a bowl for an hour until the dough rises and is double in volume.
Second Rise
- When the dough has doubled, knock out the air with your knuckles and knead again a wee bit this time.
- Spread the dough into a baking tray.
- Cover and keep aside for half an hour.
Bake Focaccia
- Make dimples with your fingertips. Make sure to poke your finger all through to the base of the pan,
- Top with onion, capsicums and olives and some more oil, herbs, chili flakes and sea salt.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C for 25minutes.
- Once baked, remove the focaccia bread onto a cooling rack. Sprinkle some more olive oil while it is hot.
How to serve Focaccia Bread
- It is best served warm.
- Cut into small bite size pieces for snacks. Larger pieces for bigger hunger pangs!!.Choice is yours how you would want to enjoy such a flavorful focaccia.
Notes
- Lightly sautéing garlic and green chili enhances the flavor.
- Take lukewarm water to activate yeast. Hot water will kill yeast.
- Do not rush to add water instantly. Add gradually.
- Use stretch and fold method to knead the dough.
- Keep the dough in warm place till it doubles in volume.
- Once the dough has risen, knock off the air with knuckles.
- Leftover dough can be stored in a zip lock bag and kept in the fridge