This recipe makes a light, pillowy Focaccia Bread with a slight crunch at the bottom. Is your mouth watering yet?! It might be a bold statement, but dare we say...it tastes better than pizza! Warm and fresh out of the oven, this homemade bread is absolutely heavenly. Even if you’re a nervous baker, we think you’ll master this recipe with no problem.
What is focaccia?
Focaccia is an Italian yeasted bread with a crisp exterior, olive oil flavors throughout, and any of your favorite toppings baked into the top. In our cookbook we have a delicious recipe for Manaish, a flatbread that uses a very similar dough to this recipe! It’s topped with olive oil and za’atar...yum!
Is it vegan?
This recipe is naturally vegan! No eggs, butter, or milk are required to make fluffy Focaccia right in your kitchen.
What is Za’atar?
This is a tricky one for us to answer since we consider ourselves za’atar purists! Za’atar is an herb or spice mixture (read more about it right here). It’s traditionally made with wild za’atar that grows in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. It tastes like a beautifully balanced blend of oregano, thyme, and hyssop and with added sesame seeds and sumac. Since it’s impossible to find in the US, we didn’t want to provide less than an authentic recipe! We usually buy Israeli or Lebanese za'atar.
Ingredients in Focaccia
Homemade Focaccia bread is so delicious you might think it would be tricky to make, but it’s actually a pretty easy recipe! The ingredient list is short and simple:
- Olive oil - Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil for best flavor
- Flour - We recommend using bread flour for its higher gluten content
- Sugar- Just a tiny bit to make the yeast grow
- Water- We recommend filtered water to prevent a chance of chlorinated tasting focaccia
- Yeast- Instant dry yeast
- Salt - To bring all the flavors together
How to Make Focaccia Bread Dough
Bubbles on the surface show that the yeast is active The dough may be a little loose and sticky at first, but it will firm up after the first rising Cover the dough and let it rise until it doubles in size Add flour to your working surface and knead the dough, add more flour if the dough is still very sticky Roll the dough in the shape of your baking sheet Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and oil it, before adding the dough
Other Suggested Focaccia Toppings
While the base recipe for focaccia is simple and straightforward, you can really have some fun with the toppings! For this recipe, we used za’atar, olives, and grape tomatoes. So delicious! Other toppings you may consider:
- Rosemary - it's a very traditional flavor profile
- Grapes - it may sound strange, but they work really well in focaccia providing a tangy and sweet note to the savory dough
- Cheese - your favorite cheese or vegan cheese will work here.
- Oregano - for that pizza like taste
- Pesto - because, in our opinion, everything tastes better with pesto
- Garlic - sink some garlic gloves into the dough or use roasted garlic
- Onions - thinly sliced
- Mushrooms - saute the mushrooms with salt and pepper before placing on the focaccia
- Sun-dried tomatoes - for their wonderfully sweet and tangy flavor
More Baking Recipes You May Enjoy
- Grilled Flatbread with Harissa and Red Pepper Hummus
- Cheesy Corn Bread with Black Bean Vegetarian Chili
- Blue Cheese Naan Bread
- Easy Vegan Banana Bread
- Apples and Honey Challah
Did you Like Our Focaccia Bread Recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe or do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
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Focaccia Bread with Za'atar Olives and Tomatoes
- Total Time: about 2 hours
- Yield: 28 small squares 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This recipe makes a light, pillowy Focaccia Bread with a slight crunch at the bottom. Warm and fresh out of the oven, this homemade bread is absolutely heavenly.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 ¼ cups warm water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp salt
- 10 grape or cherry tomatoes (get different colors if available), sliced in half (see note #1 for other topping options)
- 3 tbsp of za'atar
- 12 pitted olives of your choice (we used black cured olives)
Instructions
- Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of a stand-up mixer. Mix well and wait 5-10 minutes until small bubbles form on the surface. If no bubbles form, discard the yeast mixture and try a new pack
- Add the bread flour, ¼ cup of the oil, and salt, and knead for 5-7 minutes using the dough hook attachment
- If you are making the focaccia by hand, follow step one, add the flour, oil, and salt and mix the dough in a bowl. Knead of a floured surface for 10 minutes
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise for 30-45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size
- Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a floured surface and knead it until smooth. If the dough is very sticky, add more flour, 2 tablespoons at a time. The dough should be soft and easy to work with
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a medium-size baking sheet with parchment paper and oil the surface of the parchment with the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil
- Roll the dough to fit the size of your baking sheet and transfer it to the lined and greased baking sheet
- Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top of the focaccia dough. Press your finger into the dough to create as many indents as you can
- Sprinkle the za'atar evenly to cover the entire surface of the focaccia dough. Arrange the tomatoes and olives on top. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise again for 20-30 minutes
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the bottom of the focaccia is golden and the dough is cooked. Cooking time will depend on the size of your baking sheet and on the thickness of the dough
Notes
- Other toppings you can choose for your focaccia bread
- Rosemary - it's a very traditional flavor profile
- Grapes - it may sound strange, but they work really well in focaccia providing a tangy and sweet note to the savory dough
- Cheese - your favorite cheese or vegan cheese will work here.
- Oregano - for that pizza like taste
- Pesto - because, in our opinion, everything tastes better with pesto
- Garlic - sink some garlic gloves into the dough or use roasted garlic
- Onions - thinly sliced
- Mushrooms - saute the mushrooms with salt and pepper before placing them on the focaccia
- Sun-dried tomatoes - for their wonderfully sweet and tangy flavor
- Prep Time: 90 minutes, includes rising time
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Breads and doughs
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 small square
- Calories: 60
- Sugar: .4
- Sodium: 102
- Fat: .6
- Saturated Fat: .1
- Unsaturated Fat: .5
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 11.2
- Fiber: .5
- Protein: 1.9
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: how to make focaccia, what is focaccia, what is za'atar
Elaine says
Greetings! I love focaccia bread. Looking forward to trying this recipe this weekend. I only have regular unbleached flour and Bob’s Red Mill 1-for 1 gluten free flour. Any adjustments needed for either of these flours? Thank you!
Vicky & Ruth says
You can use unbleached flour for this recipe, it may not come out as fluffly if you don't use bread flour. If you happen to have vital wheat gluten, you can add 1/4 cup to the flour to simulate bread flour. Let us know if you have any more questions and how you liked the recipe.
Elaine says
Just finished baking and it’s delicious. My husband ate several slices. I made several changes. To up the flour protein I used 2 cups of unbleached all purpose and 1 cup of whole wheat. I was mixing manually — next time I’ll use my Kitchenaid. It was so sticky on the first knead I had to add about 8 tbsps extra (2 were whole wheat). After that all went well. In the final knead I used a mix of flours. I also used a silicone baking mat so no oil on the bottom when baking. It was ready in 20 mins. Dough was fluffy. Wish I could upload the photos for you. Btw, sugar is missing from your recipe so I had to redo the yeast activation part, but no worries. Thank you for the advice and another great recipe!
★★★★★
Vicky & Ruth says
Thank you for your feedback ELaine. We really appreciate you taking the time to share it with us.
Fran says
I am making it in the bread machine. A couple of the ingredients seem to have incorrect amounts. I think it is 1 1/4 c water not 1/4 cup and 1/4 c olive oil rather than 1/4 Tbs. using those measurements the dough looks great. I put some fresh rosemary into the dough as well.
Vicky & Ruth says
Hi Fran, you are absolutely right! Thank you so much for your comment and for catching those typos. We corrected the recipe. We really appreciate the feedback. Adding rosemary to the dough sounds wonderful!
Ellie says
What would you guys call a medium baking sheet? I think I have a huge one and and a too small one!
Vicky & Ruth says
Around 13x18 would be a good size.