Focaccia Recipe with Caramelized Onion, Tomato & Rosemary (2024)

FAQs

What kind of flour to use for focaccia? ›

Use your favorite kind—I prefer extra virgin olive oil. Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: I tested this focaccia with both and prefer the bread flour variety. Both are great, but bread flour has a higher protein content so it yields a chewier texture.

Because there is a greater edge-to-middle ratio when you bake focaccia in a loaf pan instead of a sheet pan (not to mention the loaf pan has higher sides), you're ensured a lot of crispy, cheesy bites.

Now, focaccia uses plenty of olive oil, not only in the dough, but for kneading, proofing, in the baking pan, and on the bread's surface before baking. All this fat means the texture is light, moist and springy, the crust emerges golden and crisp, plus the center stays soft for days afterwards.

Add roasted garlic and rosemary: Before the final dimpling dot the top of the dough with roasted garlic cloves and rosemary. Season it with another drizzle of olive oil and flaky sea salt. Bake the focaccia: It only takes about 20-30 minutes for focaccia to cook.

Why is my focaccia not fluffy or chewy? It could be the type of flour you used. The best flour to use to make focaccia bread is bread flour which gives you fluffy baked bread. Or, it could also be because you did not knead the dough enough for the gluten to form a structure which can result in flat or dense bread.

Aluminum is good for cakes, bars, and pies—but also for breads: focaccia, sandwich loaves, and rolls. Because metal heats up faster than glass, it contributes to a better rise and crisper, browner edges.

The longer you allow the dough to rise, the more air and spongey the bread will be. Overnight Dough: Proofing the dough for 9-14 hours overnight in the fridge is my preferred method, because of the slower fermentation. This process yields a better focaccia texture and taste.

Traditionally Tuscan focaccia is medium thick and medium soft but crispy on the outside. Salt and rosemary are its usual companions. However, throughout Tuscany you can also find a thin and crispy version as well thick and very soft. Tuscan panini with cheese and cold cuts often use focaccia for a base.

This recipe, originally from Alexandra Cooks has been our go-to focaccia recipe. A pyrex glass casserole dish is perfect for a thicker bread that can be sliced for making sandwhiches. If not preparing overnight, let the mixed dough rise at room temperature for about 1.5 to 2 hours until doubled.

Why is my Focaccia dense and tough? Not allowing the focaccia to proof long enough in the fridge will prevent enough gluten from being formed. This causes flat and dense focaccia once baked.

Should I use bread flour or all-purpose flour for focaccia? ›

Bread flour is slightly higher in protein than All-purpose, so gives the focaccia just a little more chew. I love the mix of both, but just AP flour works just fine too! See FAQ for using only AP flour in the recipe if that is what you have. Yeast - I used instant yeast in this recipe.

Focaccia should have a certain softness to it, but the thing I encounter most that ruins it is too much oil in the pan combined with wet ingredients, high hydrated doughs and too fast of a cook. It's just too much moisture compounding with too fast of a bake.

Olive oil: Makes focaccia taste delicious, adding to its texture and flavor. The secret to the best focaccia bread is using a great olive oil.

This recipe is pretty traditional, using a moderate to robust extra virgin olive oil (Italian in origin, if you'd like to be ultra-traditional). Focaccia is an oven baked Italian flatbread, quite reminiscent of pizza dough.

Hard wheats, such as hard red spring or hard red winter, have a protein content in the range of 10.5% to 13.5%, which makes them ideal for all-purpose flour or bread flour. Protein content is one of the biggest factors in how a flour performs during baking.

All-purpose flour produces tender baked goods (as opposed to chewy ones) and is ideal for cakes, muffins, biscuits, piecrust, etc. Bread flour, on the other hand, is ideal for bread, pizza dough, pretzels, etc. – items where a strong crumb and a chewy texture are coveted.

For best results, base your yeast dough on wheat flour — only wheat-based flour provides the type and amount of protein yeast dough needs to support its structure. Whole wheat flour, white whole wheat flour, bread flour, or all-purpose flour are all good choices.

Bread or all purpose flour is best for baking normal bread, while self-raising flour is better for 'quick breads'. Quick breads, such as Irish soda bread, can be made with self-raising flour as they do not require yeast, which need time and fermentation to make the dough rise.