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A soft, light & airy focaccia with just the right chewiness and a crunchy exterior without the hassle of kneading?? Say no more!
Homemade focaccia is incredibly easy and minimum effort or equipment is required. The bread has a crispy exterior and a chewy and soft texture on the inside. This recipe will set you up with a basic focaccia, leaving endless topping options to you!
The dough needs to be chilled in the fridge overnight to make sure that the flavours and gluten can develop. However, I did test the recipe in a shorter amount of time and it worked just fine. If you do choose to skip the rising in the fridge, replace it with a rise outside of the fridge for 60 minutes and leave it in the fridge until you are going to bake it.
Strong bread flour - The protein content of the flour is the most important factor here. Your flour preferably has at least 12% of protein. Protein aids the development of gluten which means that you will have a chewy end product, which is exactly what you’re looking for. Not enough protein will cause the bread to easily tear and your focaccia will be more resemblant to cake than bread. Can’t find strong bread flour? De Notenshop sells ‘tarwegluten’, which is basically gluten that you’re adding to your bread.
Yeast - This recipe uses instant yeast, which does not require activation and can be mixed into the dough immediately. Always be careful not to mix yeast and salt, as salt kills yeast and your bread won’t rise
Salt - Salt is essential for flavour in your bread
Honey - This recipe calls for a little bit of honey, so we give the yeast something to eat and activate. Don’t have honey or want to make it vegan? Replace the honey with a tablespoon of regular sugar
Olive oil - I always recommend using high-quality olive oil. A bit will go into the dough and a lot will go into the pan so the bread can absorb all that delicious oil and get nice and crispy
Water - The wetter the dough, the fluffier your bread will be. Stick to the ratios in the recipe, but add a tablespoon at a time in case your dough feels too dry. Use lukewarm water to activate and help the yeast do its thing. Don’t use hot water, just warm to the touch! Hot water will kill the yeast completely.
Toppings - I topped this focaccia with crushed red chilli peppers, fresh cherry tomatoes, thyme, olive oil & flaky sea salt. But feel free to add whatever toppings you like.
Store your focaccia in an airtight container or store it inside a turned-off oven. The bread is best eaten on the same day as it will go stale the next day. If you end up having leftovers and you want to reheat the focaccia, spray it with some water and then reheat it in the oven until crispy and delicious again.
Baking time and oven temperature may vary depending on the oven you are using. All oven temperatures in my recipes are based on a conventional oven. If you bake with a fan-assisted oven, turn down the temperature slightly as these ovens tend to become hotter than a conventional oven at that temperature setting. Ovens have the tendency to deviate from the temperature you set the oven to. I would highly recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure the inside of your oven is at the right temperature. My oven for example only goes up to 160C even though I turn it up to 230C
An oven that is too hot may result in an overbaked or burnt bake and an oven that is too cold may result in underbaked and soggy bakes. Having the thermometer will not only help in getting the right temperature but also helps in determining the right baking time.
The size of your baking dish may also highly affect your baking time. A wider pan means that the batter spreads out more, resulting in it baking faster than in a smaller pan where the batter is thicker in height.
Enjoy loves xx
A fluffy, focaccia with just the right chewiness without the hassle of kneading?? Say no more!
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