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This Rosemary Focaccia Bread recipe is absolute heaven. Topped with rosemary and sea salt, it’s easy to make and even easier to eat!
A slightly crunchy outside with a warm soft inside, this is Focaccia bread. Made with rosemary, salt, and olive oil, the flavors are irresistible, not to mention, it is so easy to make. Perfect as a side dish served along Pasta Fagioli, Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup or a pan of Lasagna.
But first, What is Focaccia?
Focaccia is a type of Italian bread. It is baked in copious amounts of olive oil and traditionally is pretty flat compared to other bread recipes baked in loaf pans. Similar to pizza dough in texture except it has a stronger olive oil taste, along with its signature dimpled look! Focaccia is downright delicious and can be eaten as a side dish or plain, let’s get into it.
Focaccia Bread Ingredients
I love bread making because you use very simple, easy to find ingredients. The increments are listed in the printable recipe card below. Start out by gathering these ingredients for Focaccia bread:
- Warm Water – not hot and not cold! Warm water (110 degrees F) helps dissolve and activate the yeast. This is important for rising.
- Active Dry Yeast and Honey – focaccia bread is made with yeast and the honey helps the yeast bloom. Sugar would also be a good substitute for honey.
- Olive Oil – some of this goes into the dough and some of it is used to drizzle on the focaccia bread after it’s baked. Make sure your olive oil hasn’t gone bad.
- All-Purpose Flour – one of the main ingredients of bread that helps fill it out and develops gluten.
- Salt – to flavor the bread.
- Fresh Rosemary – to add earthy rosemary flavor and for looks. Aren’t those rosemary sprinkles gorgeous?
- Coarse Sea Salt – this flavors the bread even further after baking.
Variations
I’m sharing a pretty basic recipe for focaccia today, but feel free to switch it up! Here are a few tasty ideas:
- Garlic: if you’re a garlic lover, finely mince some fresh garlic and add it to the dough.
- Parmesan: freshly grated parmesan on top of this focaccia bread would be divine. Cheese always makes things better.
- Herbs: consider adding other herbs (dried or fresh) to make this recipe your own!
- Flavored Oil: instead of using olive oil, use a flavored oil for a unique twist. I’ve used this garlic oil before and it is FABULOUS.
Love rosemary? Check these recipes out: Smothered Baked Pork Chops, Crockpot Balsamic Beef with Rosemary, and Rosemary Maple Mustard Pork Roast Recipe.
How to Make Focaccia Bread
With these step by step instructions, making this focaccia bread should be a breeze! Make the dough, rise, spread the dough, rise, sprinkle toppings, and bake. Simple enough! For full details see the recipe card below.
- In the bottom of a stand mixer bowl, stir water together with yeast and honey until dissolved. Set aside to proof 10 minutes; it should look foamy and bubbly.
- Add in olive oil and flour. Be aware that you may not use all the flour listed or you may need a little more. Stir together to form the dough (with a dough hook). Stir in salt. When you touch the dough, it should feel tacky but not stick to your hands. This is a good indicator that dough is done.
- Coat dough in olive oil and set aside to rise.
- Pour more olive oil onto the bottom of a half sheet pan. Press the dough out into an even layer across the entire baking pan and using your fingertips, create indentations across the entire layer of dough. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Cover and rise until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven. Sprinkle focaccia with chopped fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt. Bake until golden brown. Cool before cutting into pieces and serving.
How to Serve Focaccia
Focaccia bread can be served as a side dish to any Italian cuisine. It also can be eaten plain, used for sandwich bread, or dipped in a balsamic vinegar oil mixture.
More Bread Recipes to Try!
If you liked this focaccia recipe you’re going to love my other bread recipes.
- Homemade Bread Bowl Recipe
- Craigo’s Breadsticks
- My Mom’s Potato Rolls
- EASY Homemade Bread Recipe
- Seriously *the best* Cornbread Recipe
Printable recipe card is below, save it, it’s a good one!
Focaccia Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3-4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil or flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In the bottom of a stand mixer bowl, stir water together with yeast and honey until dissolved. Set aside to proof 10 minutes; it should look foamy and bubbly.
- Add in 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 cups flour. Stir together to form the dough (with a dough hook). Stir in salt. Slowly incorporate the flour to the dough bit by bit until dough is gathered on the dough hook and have (mostly) cleaned the sides of the bowl. Be aware that you may not use all the flour listed or you may need a little more. When you touch the dough, it should feel tacky but not stick to your hands. This is a good indicator that dough is done.
- Coat dough in olive oil and set aside to rise 1 hour.
- Pour half of the olive oil (1/4 cup) onto the bottom of a half sheet pan*. Press out into an even layer across the entire baking pan and using your fingertips, create indentations across the entire layer of dough. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Cover and rise another hour or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle focaccia with chopped fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before cutting into pieces and serving.
How big is your sheet pan? And you only use half of it?
can you use dried rosemary instead of fresh?
Let’s say you don’t have a stand mixer….
Can I still make this without a stand mixer?