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Make this easy Focaccia Bread as a simple side dish! It’s the perfect no knead bread with herbs and olive oil and it’s become one of our favorite recipes!

This bread is the perfect vehicle for herbs and oil or even turn it into pizza for a simple dinner.

staked square slices of bread with oil and herbs on top.


No Knead Focaccia Bread

Focaccia is an Italian bread that’s baked flat. It’s a yeast bread that’s no knead, easy to make and perfect as a side dish or for sandwiches. And it’s absolutely perfect when dipped in good olive oil!

Kneading bread isn’t hard but it does take time and you have to know what you’re doing. There’s more chance for error when you have to knead a recipe. All you have to do when you’re making focaccia bread is to stir together the wet and dry ingredients. That’s it!

Ingredients needed

  • Rapid rise or fast acting yeast: Not active dry yeast.
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar helps activate the yeast
  • Very warm water: between 120°-130°F (an instant read thermometer is good to have!)
  • Olive oil: Use a good quality olive oil
  • Italian seasoning: Adds extra flavor to the bread!

How to make focaccia bread

  • Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
  • Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the water, then add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until well mixed.
  • Press into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke multiple holes into the dough. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over dough. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover again and let rise additional 15 minutes. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned.
  • Cool slightly and slice into pieces.
staked square slices of bread with oil and herbs on top.

Expert Tips

  • The kind of yeast you use for this recipe is important. You need to make sure and use a fast or quick acting yeast and NOT active dry yeast. Active Dry Yeast is a different kind of yeast and requires proofing and longer rising time.
  • There are so many options when seasoning this bread: Italian seasoning, A bit of olive oil, or turn it into garlic bread or pizza!
  • Because there is yeast in focaccia bread, it does need time to rise. Therefore plan accordingly. 

FAQs

Can I use active dry yeast?

No, active dry yeast is different. You need fast or quick acting yeast. 

How do you store focaccia? Can I freeze it?

You can store and freeze it in an airtight container. 

staked square slices of bread with oil and herbs on top.

Easy Focaccia Bread Recipe

4.45 from 18 votes
Make this easy Focaccia Bread as a simple side dish! It’s the perfect no knead bread with herbs and olive oil and it’s become one of our favorite recipes!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rising Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield 10 servings
Serving Size 1 serving

Ingredients
 

  • 3 cups (372g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 envelope (2 ¼ teaspoons or 7g) rapid rise or fast acting yeast NOT active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ⅔ cups (395ml) very warm water (heated to between 120°-130°F)
  • 4 tablespoons (60ml) olive oil divided
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
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Instructions

  • Grease a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray or oil.
  • Mix flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the water, then add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring until well mixed. Press into prepapred pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke multiple holes into the dough. Drizzle remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over dough. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cover again and let rise additional 15 minutes. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned.
  • Cool slightly and slice into pieces.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

  • Do not use active dry yeast.
  • This takes time to rise, so plan accordingly.
  • You can add garlic powder or fresh garlic to make garlic bread, or even turn this into pizza!

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 194kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 234mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American

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Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

4.45 from 18 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




24 Comments

  1. I just tried the recipe for the first time. Let me first say that the bread was delicious. For all those who think that it might be two โ€œwetโ€ when putting in the pan, no worries- just continue. It gets thicker as you leave to rise. Mine was almost to the point of being too watery, but I continues to prepare according to recipe. It came out great. I did not have to bake 30 min. I baked about 20 minutw\es, because we donโ€™t like it getting too crisp. Another slight deviation I made was I spread about 1-2 tblsp of olive oil in pan before I put the dough in and spread it. It made for a very crispy,but not burnt, bottom
    Again, it comes out great for a no knead bread. I have also tried the
    โ€˜kneadโ€ Focaccias and they are also good, but I think come more like a pizza dough, whilr\e this is her light and fluffy.๐Ÿ˜€

  2. I couldnโ€™t believe how easy this recipe was! I added the herbs to the bread mix and topped with assorted veggies and olives. Fantastic!

  3. So easy and sooo good! I topped mine with lots of rosemary and edible flowers. Mine did rise more than I thought it would (almost double the bread thickness shown in the recipe) but, it made for a perfect spongey bread with a crispy bottom. Just delicious!

  4. I have a question regarding the water amount. The printed recipe calls for 1 2/3 cups of water but checking the video it looks like a one cup measuring cup. My dough did not press into the pan, it poured in. After no rise, I poured it back into a bowl and added a cup of flour and actually got a bread dough look. Hopefully it will rise but I have my doubts. Could you verify the water measurement. My other measurements were correct. Thank you.

    1. The measurement in the recipe is correct, I’ve made this a few times now. It’s a soft dough but should not be liquid.