There is just something about the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. There is nothing better on a cold winter’s night than a fresh pot of Beef Vegetable Soup on the stove and the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. But let’s be real, who actually has time to bake bread with all this we have going on in our lives? Especially when you can just pick up a loaf from the supermarket or local bakery. However for me making bread is a form of therapy. There is something so satisfying about watching a beautiful loaf of bread rise to perfection. If you have never made homemade, Focaccia bread is a perfect bread to begin your breading making journey. Especially for anyone new to making homemade bread, this quick No-Knead Focaccia is the optimal start as it doesn’t require any kneading at all.
If you want to fill your kitchen with the smell of fresh-baked bread but you’re nervous about shaping a boule or working with a starter, focaccia is the best place to begin. I am not exaggerating when I say it requires zero skill and provides ample opportunity to be amazed by yourself and by the wonders of yeast.
Focaccia bread is the perfect combination of think crunchy crust on the outside and soft goodness in the middle. I love to slice it up and dip into that big bowl of soup or along aside a big bowl of pasta.
Ingredients to Make No Knead Focaccia Bread
- Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour. I like to use King Arthur Bread Flour which you can find at almost any supermarket. You can also use All Purpose Flour.
- Yeast to make the bread rise. Ensure to check the yeast is alive by seeing bubbles appear when added to the water.My preferred yeast is Red Star Active Dry Yeast. A ¼-oz. envelope of active dry yeast is about 2¼ teaspoons.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil is used in multiple stages of the Focaccia making. It brings the signature scent and flavour
- Warm water is required and is made by mixing boiling water and water
- Salt is added to the dough for flavour
- Honey or Sugar helps with the flavour and to make the bread brown
Toppings for the Focaccia Bread
- Rosemary Leaves
- Flaky salt
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Basil leaves
- Garlic
- Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
- Red pepper flakes
- Olives
- Cherry tomatoes
Tips to make No Knead Focaccia Recipe
- When making the yeasty water, make sure that bubbles or foam appear before mixing into the flour bowl. This is to ensure the yeast is still alive. If there are no bubbles or foam, you may need to make a new batch. I find that the temperature of the water you add to the yeast plays a very important part of the yeast process. The water needs to be lukewarm. The temperature of lukewarm water is approximately 100 degrees to 105 degrees.
- Make sure your baking dish is non stick as the focaccia can stick to the pan in the baking process and will be very hard to remove otherwise
- Make sure to generously coat the oven dish with 2-3 tablespoon of olive oil. Parchment baking paper or a baking sheet in the dish is also an option to prevent the dough from sticking
- When handling the dough, add a little olive oil to your hands and fingers. The dough is super sticky and it will stick to your hands and fingers otherwise
- When adding toppings, be careful not to add too many heavy toppings as they can prevent the dough from rising
- All ovens are different so cooking times can slightly vary from oven to oven. Check the color of your bread at approximately 20 minutes or so. It can take up to 25-30 minutes depending on how hot your oven cooks.
- Allow the focaccia to rest and cool down for 5-10 minutes on a cooling rack before slicing and enjoying
Super Easy No Knead Focaccia Bread
Course: Appetizers, BreadCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy12
servings1
hour35
minutes25
minutesThis Easy Focaccia Bread is one of the simplest bread recipes and barely takes any work at all, to create unbelievably tasty Italian bread!
Ingredients
5 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour (I like to use King Arthur’s bread flour)
2 1/2 cups warm water (2 cups water and 1/2 cup boiling water)
¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)
2 teaspoons honey
5 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt or 1 Tbsp. Morton kosher salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for hands
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for pan
2–4 garlic cloves
- TOPPINGS
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves
Flaky sea salt
Directions
- Whisk one ¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.), 2 tsp. honey, and 2½ cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl and let sit 5 minutes (it should foam or at least get creamy; if it doesn’t your yeast is dead and you should start again—check the expiration date!).
- Add 5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour and 5 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 Tbsp. Morton kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and no dry streaks remain.
- Pour 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into a big bowl that will fit in your refrigerator. This dough is going to rise! Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat in oil. Place bowl in a draft free area and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours.
- Generously butter a 13×9″ baking pan, for thicker focaccia that’s perfect for sandwiches, or an 18×13″ rimmed baking sheet, for focaccia that’s thinner, crispier, and great for snacking. The butter may seem superfluous, but it’ll ensure that your focaccia doesn’t stick. Pour 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into center of pan. Keeping the dough in the bowl and using a fork in each hand, gather up edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat process. Do this 2 more times; you want to deflate dough while you form it into a rough ball. Transfer dough to a prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over and turn dough to coat it in oil. Let rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot (like near a radiator or on top of the fridge or a preheating oven) until doubled in size, at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours.
- Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°. To see if the dough is ready, poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn’t ready. (If at this point the dough is ready to bake but you aren’t, you can chill it up to 1 hour.) Lightly oil your hands. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill (you probably won’t need to do this if using a baking pan). Use your fingers to poke deep dents — like seriously, poke all the way down until you touch the baking sheet — all over the surface of the dough. Then drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil evenly all over the top of the dough, and sprinkle evenly with the fresh rosemary needles and flaky sea salt. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.
- Hold off on this last step until you’re ready to serve the focaccia: Melt 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Peel and grate in 2–4 garlic cloves with a Microplane (use 2 cloves if you’re garlic-shy or up to 4 if you love it). Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until garlic is just lightly toasted, 30–45 seconds. (Or, if you prefer raw garlic to toasted garlic, you can grate the garlic into the hot butter, off heat, then brush right away.)
- Brush garlic-butter all over focaccia and slice into squares or rectangles.
- Do Ahead: Focaccia is best eaten the day it’s made, but keeps well in the freezer. Slice it into pieces, store it in a freezer-safe container, then reheat it on a baking sheet in a 300° F oven.
