I love, love, love Focaccia bread, but it has to be a really good Focaccia bread. It needs to be yeasty, airy and soft on the inside with a crusty outside that has a good chew, and a lovely Rosemary flavor profile. How can you possibly achieve all that with a no-knead recipe you ask? This is actually a super easy technique that’s quite easy to do, but you will need some patience and preplanning because it does take some time to make it happen. This recipe is perfect for those of you that are new to baking breads. Are you interested in giving this delicious bread a try? Then keep reading for the easy step by step instructions.
If you can get your hands on some fresh rosemary be sure to use it instead of dried. In a pinch your can certainly use dried rosemary but the fresh Rosemary and large flakes of sea salt give this Focaccia bread it’s wonderful rich flavor profile.
Strip leaves from the rosemary stems. When clipping your rosemary look for the soft, tender, new growth stems.
Place warm water with yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
Make sure the water is around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, any hotter than that and you risk killing the yeast.
In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour and salt.
For best results, use a kitchen scale to measure out the flour.
Once the yeast mixture starts to bubble up, about 5 minutes, add it to the flour.
Stir together until you have a very sticky dough.
Top the dough with a couple tablespoons of olive oil in the bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight, about 10-12 hours.
This is what the dough will look like after it’s been in your fridge overnight.
Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13×9 inch oven safe casserole dish. The olive oil forms a flavorful chewy crust that’s especially delightful!
TIP: Make sure both the bottom and the sides of the dish are also well oiled. Be generous with the olive oil, not only does it give the bread a fantastic flavor but this dough will want to stick to the pan, so more oil is better than not enough oil.
Uncover the dough and place it in the prepared casserole dish.
Gently push dough out to flatten just slightly. Handle the dough as little as possible being careful not to press out all the air bubbles that have formed in the dough.
Cover dish with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 2-4 hours on your counter. The dough will slowly spread out towards the corners of the dish as it sits. It will form more bubbles, and also increase in size. It won’t necessarily double in size but it will look swollen.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Remove the plastic wrap from casserole dish. Oil your fingertips and press them all over the top of the dough to form dimples all over the surface.
Drizzle the dimpled dough with 1-2 more tablespoons of olive oil, then sprinkle with the fresh Rosemary leaves and sea salt flakes.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the bread is a rich golden brown.
Remove loaf from the oven and remove Focaccia bread from the baking dish right away.
TIP: Do not allow Focaccia bread to cool down in the pan, it will stick making it difficult to remove it from the pan.
Cool Focaccia on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before slicing it.
This Focaccia bread is DIVINE!!! It pairs beautifully with all your favorite Italian inspired meals; a Traditional Italian Lasagna, an Authentic Italian Red Wine Bolognese, or how about this easy to make Tortellini & Italian Sausage in a Creamy Tomato Sauce, or this Hearty, Easy To Prepare, Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Bake or my personal favorite, my Daddy’s Delicious Spaghetti & Meat Sauce.
Round out the meal with my all time favorite, this Rich & Creamy Caesar Salad With Crisp, Garlicky Toasted Croutons. You’ll feel like you are in Italy without ever having to step even one foot outside the comfort of your very own kitchen!
Be sure to give this Focaccia bread a try. It’s really very easy to make. You basically just stir together the ingredients, let it rise, place the dough in the pan, let it rest, top it with fresh rosemary and salt, bake it up, and then you get to eat it. It’s one of the easiest, most flavorful breads you will ever make. There’s hardly any hands on work required; the majority of the time is spent just letting the dough rise. So get that dough in the fridge tonight before you go to bed and can have a loaf on the table for dinner…tomorrow night.
No-Knead Rosemary Focaccia Bread
Equipment
- kitchen scale
- 13×9 inch oven safe casserole dish
- kitchen scale
- instant read thermometer
Ingredients
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh Rosemary leaves
- sea salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine warm water with yeast and sugar. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together flour and salt.
- Once the yeast mixture starts to bubble up, about 5 minutes, add it to the flour.
- Stir together until you have a sticky dough.
- Top dough with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, about 10-12 hours.
- Pour 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a 13×9 inch oven safe casserole dish.
- Make sure both the bottom and the sides of the dish are also well oiled.
- Uncover dough and place in prepared casserole dish.
- Gently push dough out to flatten just slightly. Be careful not to press out all the bubbles in the dough.
- Cover dish with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 2-4 hours. Dough will spread out to the corners, form more bubbles, and increase in size.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Remove plastic wrap from casserole dish. Oil fingertips and press them all over the top of the dough to form dimples all over the surface.
- Drizzle the dimpled dough with 1-2 more tablespoons olive oil, and sprinkle with Rosemary and salt.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until a rich golden brown.
- Remove from oven and remove Focaccia bread from the baking dish right away.
- Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
Did You Make This?
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