How to make Rosemary Focaccia Bread? (Rich, Soft and Chewy)

• Food: Rosemary Focaccia Bread
• Writer: Lizzie Green
• Content-Type: Food Blog

How simple it is to create excellent focaccia bread at home will astound you! It is rich, delicious, soft, and chewy, with a garnish of rosemary and roasted garlic.

The majority of the time when we bake bread at home, it is focaccia. Jack created a lot of rustic ciabatta loaves when he first started baking bread.

The bread was tasty and the ingredients were straightforward, however, it took hours for the dough to rise and knead.

We didn’t turn back when we realized how simple it is to produce excellent focaccia bread at home.

Since then, we have frequently used this focaccia recipe. With rising time included, it comes together in under 2 hours, and the bread is savory and thick with a deliciously chewy texture.

I liberally sprinkle it with rosemary because rosemary and focaccia are a traditional pairing (and because fresh herbs improve everything!). After that, I sprinkle it with roasted garlic and season it with red pepper flakes and flaky sea salt.

This focaccia bread, which has red and green flecks throughout, is a straightforward yet spectacular Christmas side dish.

Fortunately, though, it’s simple enough to prepare even if you’re not preparing a special meal. I sincerely hope you adore it as much as we do!

Making Focaccia Bread

Don’t let focaccia scare you if bread baking is new to you. It resembles creating handmade pizza dough a lot. What you’ll need is as follows:

• Warm water, sugar, and active dry yeast The yeast is activated by the sugar and warm water, which causes the bread to rise and acquire its soft, chewy texture.
• Using a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour is how I love to make my bread, but you may also make it using all-purpose flour.
• Don’t forget the salt in this recipe! It imparts the fantastic savory flavor of this focaccia bread.
• Olive oil is also necessary for focaccia! Olive oil, together with salt, is what gives this bread its flavorful aroma and golden hue. You’ll both spread it over the top of the bread and incorporate it into the dough.
  developing bread dough

Waiting for the dough to rise is the most difficult part of this recipe! When it does, lightly oil a large sheet pan with a rim and then firmly press the dough to the edges of the pan.

Here, don’t be shy! If the dough tears, patch it up and press outward from the center. Any holes at this point are not a huge concern because you’re going to intentionally create holes in them later.

Turn the dough over and push it to the pan’s edges once more after you’ve done so. Make divots in the dough with your fingers, spacing them a few inches apart. After that, wrap it in plastic and let it rise once more.

The rosemary, roasted garlic, and flaky sea salt should be sprinkled on after the focaccia has doubled in size. Bake until golden brown.

Recipe Tips for Focaccia

• Allow the dough to rise in a warm place. The best results will be obtained by letting your dough rise in a warm environment because yeast reacts to warmth. Our preference is a sunny windowsill for ours!
• Freeze surplus. Well, bread freezes! The baked focaccia should be cut into squares and frozen for several months in an airtight container. I like to keep some on hand to use as a quick side dish with soups or salads.
• Add new seasonings! Although we adore this straightforward focaccia bread with roasted garlic and rosemary, other toppings would also be wonderful. Use olives, sun-dried or roasted tomatoes, or thinly sliced Meyer lemon in place of or in addition to the roasted garlic, or try substituting the rosemary with sage or thyme leaves.

Focaccia Bread Serving Ideas

The rosemary and red pepper flakes in this focaccia recipe make it look so gorgeous and festive, and it would go great on any holiday table! For other holiday side dishes to accompany it, visit this post.

As I mentioned above, this recipe is also easy enough to prepare regularly. Any night of the week, enjoy it as a snack, slice it to create sandwiches, or serve it with a steaming cup of soup.

We particularly enjoy it with my lentil soup, butternut squash soup, carrot ginger soup, and cauliflower soup, but it’s delicious with any of these other soup recipes as well.

All things Italian go nicely with this focaccia recipe. Serve it with any of these simple pasta dishes, such as baked ziti, fettuccine Alfredo, or spaghetti Aglio e olio. It would go great with my polenta with creamy mushrooms.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

This focaccia bread is flavored with rosemary, roasted garlic, olive oil, sea salt, and other savory ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1¾ cup warm water, 105° to 115°F
• 1 (¼-ounce) package of active dry yeast, (2¼ teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon cane sugar
• 3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
• 1½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 1 bulb of Roasted Garlic, optional
• 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

Instructions

1. Stir the water, yeast, and sugar in a medium bowl. Wait 5 minutes until the yeast starts to bubble.
2. The flour, salt, 1/4 cup of olive oil, and yeast mixture should be combined in a stand mixer bowl with a dough hook attachment. Mix the ingredients on medium speed for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the dough forms a ball around the hook.
3. Transfer the dough to a surface that has been lightly dusted with flour, knead it several times, adding more flour as necessary, and then shape it into a ball. Place the dough in a sizable basin and coat it with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
4. Apply the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil to a 10 x 15-inch rimmed baking sheet. On a surface that has been lightly dusted with flour, knead the dough after punching it down. Put the dough in the pan and press it outward to the edges of the pan. Spread the dough once more to the edges after turning it over. All over the dough, press your fingers into the surface a few inches apart. The dough should rise for about 40 minutes or until it has doubled in size, then cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap.
5. Set the oven to 425 °F. Put the plastic wrap aside. Cut the roasted garlic cloves in half, then press each half into the dough’s top layer. Add the red pepper flakes and rosemary, then bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.