Shockingly easy Italian focaccia bread (no knead!)
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5.0
51 reviews
Excellent
Shockingly easy Italian focaccia bread (no knead!)
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A quick and easy traditional Italian focaccia bread that requires only 6 very basic pantry ingredients, and that impreses every time. Make the dough in minutes, leave it to rise, and press it into a pan. Then it's ready in 20 minutes. No kneading or other fussing necessary!
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Ingredients
- 2 cups white flour (I usually just use plain flour, but strong bread flour may yield even better results!)
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon yeast ('Instant' dry yeast is best, but just 'dry yeast' is fine too. It may take up to 15 minutes longer to rise, however.)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing the pan and drizzling over at the end
- 1 cup tepid water (it should feel neither warm nor cold, almost like nothing)
- 3 tablespoons fresh Rosemary optional, chopped finely
- balsamic vinegar and more olive oil optional – for dipping!
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Instructions
- Add the first 5 ingredients to a large bowl. Pour over the water.
- Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until everything is combined and a ball of dough starts to form.
- Add a tiny bit more flour if the dough is still really sticky (but not too much - you want the dough to be on the wetter/stickier side). Then, with floured hands, knead just enough times to gather into a smooth ball of dough.
- Lift up the dough while you spray or brush a little oil over the bottom and sides of the bowl. Then cover the bowl of dough with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1 to 3 hours, or until roughly doubled in size (or leave for longer - see note below for details). If you leave the dough in a warm place it will rise faster (again, see notes below).
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the chopped rosemary over the dough and mix it in with floured hands (optional). Add any other mix-ins at this point.
- Press the dough into a rectangular or circular cake pan or baking dish. I usually use a 10 x 7 inch cake pan or an 8 inch circular cake tin. Roughly push the dough right to the edges.
- Cover with a tea towel again and leave for about 30 minutes more. After 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 220C / 430F.
- Push your thumb into the dough in a few places to make indentations. Then sprinkle over the rest of the rosemary, if using. Drizzle over about a tablespoon of olive oil. Grind over some sea salt (optional).
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the bread is golden on top and has started to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Serve warm with a meal, slice into 4-6 and make sandwiches, or slice into fingers and serve with a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as an appetizer. The bread is best eaten the same day, but you can make a toasted sandwich or croutons the next day. You can also freeze leftovers for 3 to 6 months (but best eaten within a month).
Equipments used:
Notes
- Don't worry, your measurements don't have to be perfectly exact!
- If your dough seems really wet and sticky when you've stirred all the ingredients together, simply sprinkle over a little more flour so that you can knead a few times and gather it all up into a ball.
- Don't add too much extra flour, though. The dough should be on the wetter/stickier side to help it rise fairly quickly.
- The rising time varies according to how warm it is, but you're aiming for it to roughly double in size.
- If it's warm in your kitchen, you might find your dough has doubled in size after barely an hour. If it's really cold, it'll still rise but it'll take longer - up to 3 hours.
- If you'd like your dough to rise quickly, here's a simple trick: Switch on your oven to the 'keep warm' or similar setting (turn it on to a low heat, basically). When it's heated up a little bit (not too much), turn the oven off and open the door. Place your covered bowl of dough inside. Just make sure it isn't too hot in there - you don't want the temperature to be above about 32C/90F or you'll kill the yeast.
- If you use fast acting yeast AND your kitchen is warm, you might even get away with just half an hour rising time. Just make sure your dough has roughly doubled in size.
- A note about the type of yeast: 'Instant' dry yeast is best as it will work the fastest. However, I usually use one of the little 0.25 ounce/7 gram sachets labelled just 'dry yeast' (you'll need just 1 teaspoon). The bread always turns out well using this! However, if you want to be sure, go for 'instant' yeast.
- Yes, you can make the dough ahead - up to a week (or some say even longer) ahead, actually.
- Just pop the dough into a large food or freezer bag and seal it until you want to bake your fresh bread. Take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before you're ready to shape it to let it come to room temperature. Then press it into a pan and proceed with the recipe as normal.
- You can even freeze the dough for up to 3 months if you want to. Let it rise as if you are going to bake it immediately, then punch it down, rub it with a little olive oil (to stop it sticking to the wrapping) and freeze it in a freezer bag. Let it defrost thoroughly before pressing into a pan and proceeding with the recipe as normal.
- Don't worry if the dough seems quite stretchy and difficult to push into the corners of your pan. It doesn't have to be perfect - it'll still bake up to perfection.
- Enjoy it the same day if possible, but focaccia bread will keep well for 2 days if wrapped well.
- I usually eat mine as is on the day of baking and if there are any leftovers the next day (IF!) I make a toasted sandwich with it - yum!
- If there are still leftovers (unlikely, but it happens) I freeze big slices of it in portions. The bread is best eaten within a month but it keeps pretty well for 3 to 6 months.
- If you just have a little left, why not turn it into a delicious crispy topping for pasta called pangrattato?
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
307kcal
(15%)
Carbohydrates
51g
(17%)
Protein
8g
(16%)
Fat
8g
(12%)
Saturated Fat
1g
(5%)
Sodium
585mg
(24%)
Potassium
106mg
(3%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
2g
(4%)
Vitamin A
44IU
(1%)
Vitamin C
1mg
(1%)
Calcium
14mg
(1%)
Iron
3mg
(17%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4to 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories 307 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 307kcal | 15% |
| Carbohydrates | 51g | 17% |
| Protein | 8g | 16% |
| Fat | 8g | 12% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 585mg | 24% |
| Potassium | 106mg | 2% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 44IU | 1% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 14mg | 1% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
51 reviews
Excellent
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