Italian Focaccia Bread Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share a commission.

Italian Focaccia Bread Recipe is an oily crusty bread, that is topped with fresh rosemary, kosher salt, and then more olive oil. Best if eaten fresh the first day!

Bread is my jam. Next, try my momma’s famous Chewy French Bread, the best Multi-Grain Seeded Bread, and if you’re into sourdough, try an easy Overnight Sourdough Bread.

Italian Focaccia

I’m a total bread girl. Me and Oprah could be best friends, I think. Because I’m never gonna say “no more bread”.

Over the years, I’ve probably made a thousand batches of fresh bread. I learned from the best, Norma Jean, who pretty much baked every other day. She taught me all of her tricks, including learning how sticky it should be, or how much flour is just the right amount, based on touch and sight. She taught me that you should ALWAYS have a slice of fresh bread THE day you bake it. Because that’s what great bakers do. They taste and then they learn, and go on to make even better bread the next time around.

For sure, my bread consumption (and that of my family’s) has decreased. But you can bet that I’m never ever EVER gonna turn down FRESH bread.

If I could explain the TASTE of focaccia bread, it would be this.

• crunchy on the outside
• soft on the inside
• salty
• oily
• and OMG delish

You could make this recipe by hand instead of using a mixer. Use a large mixing bowl and a baking mat in this case.

Steps to make Focaccia Bread.

Step 1
Make the dough in a standing mixer. Or you can do this by hand, if needed.

• Prepare the yeast mixture. Combine the yeast, sugar, and the warm water in a large mixer. Be careful to use WARM water, not hot. Mix and let sit for about 15 minutes to get the yeast working. It should foam up.
• Add the salt and olive oil, and stir with a spatula. Attach dough hook to mixer and then add three cups of the flour. Start the mixer, and let it run until flour is fully absorbed.
• Gradually add remaining cup (or more). You want the bread dough to be slightly sticky but not too much. Be sure to leave the mixer on for several minutes after you get the right consistency.

Step 2
Place dough in a bowl. Grease a large bowl with olive oil. Add dough to the bowl, making sure you smooth it into a ball. Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and set it in a warm corner of your kitchen.

Step 3
Let dough rise until doubled in size. This will take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your climate (both inside and outside of your home). We live in Texas so this dough rises fast for me.

Step 4
Press the dough out on a well-oiled pan. Add a couple of tablespoons to a 9×13 inch pan (or you can use a regular sheet pan and just form it into any shape you desire). Then transfer the dough to the pan and spread it out with your hands. Don’t over-work it.

Step 5
Let dough rise again. Cover the dough again and let it sit until it doubles again. The time will again vary depending on your climate.

Step 7
Chop rosemary. Remove stems from the fresh rosemary sprigs and chop it up.

Step 8
Add rosemary, salt, and additional olive oil. Add another drizzle of olive oil to the top of the dough. Then add kosher salt and the chopped rosemary.

Step 9
Bake. Place the pan in a preheated 400 degree oven. Bake until just golden brown on both the top and bottom of the bread, approximately 20 minutes (or slightly more). Remove pan and gently place bread on a cooling rack.

Step 10
Add extra olive oil. Add another drizzle of olive oil to the top of the freshly baked bread!

What to pair this delicious bread with:

This would go great with any Italian meal, especially saucy ones that need sopping up!

• Traditional Bolognese Sauce – let it cook all day long for even more flavor!
• Skinny Fettuccine Alfredo – a lighter pasta dish that you won’t regret.
• Butternut Squash Lasagna with Spinach – one of my favorite lasagna recipes EVER.
• Turkey Zucchini Meatballs – totally worth your time to make the homemade sauce too.

A few tips:

1. When you add the warm water to the yeast, sugar, and salt – be careful to use WARM water, not hot. If the water is too hot, the yeast will disappear and you can’t make bread without yeast. Also, do not use cool water because it won’t activate the yeast.
2. Don’t add all the flour at once because every baking day is different. Some days you will need a bit more flour and some days, you will need less.
3. The dough shouldn’t be overly sticky when ready. It should bounce back slightly to the touch. Over time, you will learn exactly how much flour is needed to make the ultimate focaccia bread.
4. The olive oil is key to getting a perfect focaccia bread. Don’t skimp.
5. I used a 9×13 inch pan for baking, but you could also just place dough on a baking sheet. Want a thicker dough? Use a smaller pan.
6. Make sure you use those fingertips to make little impressions all over the top of the dough.
7. Use FRESH rosemary and plenty of kosher salt.
8. When done, the bottom of the bread should be slightly brown and crunchy, and the top, a nice golden brown.
9. For best results, eat fresh the first day!

Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)

• Bosch Universal Mixer
• USA Pan 9 x 13-Inch

Please let me know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.

xoxo ~Sue