Garlic Rosemary Focaccia
Focaccia is an easy to make bread recipe that’s made delicious with garlic, fresh rosemary, and plenty of parmesan! You’ll love how light and fluffy this rustic bread is when made just right. This classic Italian bread can be served as a side dish with pasta, used as sandwich bread, or enjoyed just as it is!
Rosemary Foccacia
Calling all bread lovers, this one’s for you! Remember when the internet became obsessed with making sourdough bread during 2020? It was like a widespread realization that making homemade sourdough was actually very easy, so we all jumped on board and started making our own loaves.
Well, even though we’re freely roaming and not contained to our homes, I suggest you continue making your own bread.
Like this foccacia! In my opinion, it’s just as easy to make as sourdough and is also worth internet fame. Plus, you get to poke fun little holes all over the top with your fingers. It makes for a cute viral video, and it’s just downright fun.
If you enjoyed playing with Play-Doh as a kid, you’ll be quite fond of this baking process! And if you really want to achieve viral internet views, feel free to decorate your foccacia with all sorts of fun toppings.
When made just right, foccacia is light, fluffy, chewy, and has the best aromatic qualities from herbs and parmesan cheese. A little known fact about focaccia is that it’s naturally vegan!
That’s right, none of the very simple and budget-friendly ingredients listed in this rustic recipe include any animal products. Let’s get to baking, shall we?
How to Make Focaccia
Don’t forget to have a little fun while making this classic Italian bread!
- Create the dough. Use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Mix together the flour, salt, yeast, and olive oil until a shaggy dough forms.
- Knead it. Turn the mixer to a slow speed and knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it’s smooth and stretchy.
- Let it rise. Lightly oil a bowl with olive oil. Place the dough into it and turn it a few times to cover with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Let it rise a second time. Pour some olive oil into your baking pan. Spread it all around the pan. Place the dough into the prepared pan and stretch it so it fills the entire pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Top it off. This is the fun part! Poke deep holes with your fingertips all over the surface of the dough. Place the garlic and rosemary into the dough. Drizzle olive oil all over the dough, then sprinkle on the parmesan.
- Bake. Bake the focaccia in the center of your oven at 425°F for 20 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it has that signature pale golden brown color.
- Enjoy! Top off your baked bread with more parmesan, slice, and serve.
Tips and Variations to Try
- Use bread flour. I recommend that you use a strong bread flour to make this recipe, as bread flour has a higher protein content. This allows the focaccia to rise and hold its shape. However, I’ve tested this recipe with all purpose flour and will still work just fine if that’s all you have!
- Be picky with your olive oil. It’s important to use a really good quality olive oil for focaccia as it’s one of the star ingredients. You should be able to taste its flavor, so don’t skimp here.
- Not a garlic fan? I love a very garlicky focaccia (like enough to scare off the vampires), but if you don’t want it as potent you can reduce the garlic by half.
- Give it time to rise. When making focaccia, you need to plan enough time to allow the dough to rise at each stage. Putting the dough in a warm place will encourage the yeast. Look for a dough that has doubled at the first stage and a dough that springs back when touched after the second rise.
How to Store Focaccia
Store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature. Focaccia is best eaten on the day it’s made. With that being said, it does freeze very well for up to 3 months. Let it slowly thaw in the fridge before warming up and eating.
Keep making your own bread at home with more of these easy recipes!
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Get the Recipe: Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb 4 cups strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsps instant, fast-action yeast
- 6 tbsp olive oil, divided, plus 2 tbsp extra for greasing
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 8 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
- 5 sprigs rosemary
- 1/2 cup Parmesan
Equipment
- 1 13 x 9 baking pan
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment put the flour, salt and yeast. Add the 3 tbsps of olive oil and water and mix to a shaggy dough.
- Turn the mixer to a slow speed and knead for 10 minutes or until you have a smooth and stretchy dough. (The dough should feel tacky so don’t be tempted to add more flour.)
- Lightly oil a large bowl with a drizzle of olive oil. Tip the dough into it, turn the dough in the oil then cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into a 13” x 9” baking pan, use your hands to spread it all around the pan and up the sides.
- Tip the risen dough into the pan and use your hands to stretch it into shape so that it fills the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough has almost doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- When the dough is ready it will spring back slowly when you touch it with your finger. Dig your fingertips into the dough making deep holes across the surface of the dough.
- Poke the sliced garlic into the holes then tear the rosemary into small sprigs and press them in too.
- Drizzle over 3 tbsps of olive oil and scatter over half of the Parmesan.
- Bake in the center of the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the Focaccia is a pale golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and top with the remaining Parmesan.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!