Ridiculously Easy Focaccia Bread

I feel like I’m introducing you to an old friend, as I write about this fabulous, easy focaccia bread. I’ve been making it all summer, despite the fact that it’s been a crazy couple of months as we packed up our home in Raleigh (after 37 years) and moved to the mountains of North Carolina, near Asheville. Believe me, the only frequent-flyers in my kitchen this summer have been recipes that took minimal effort and (of course) were super delicious!

Focaccia Bread, Our Favorite Yeast Bread To Make At Home
Focaccia is our favorite yeast-bread to make at home. It has a crisp outside and soft inside, and is perfect to serve with dinner, soups, stews, or even sliced in half and used for sandwiches. Thanks to the ingredients, it’s also naturally vegan.

This garlic focaccia bread recipe is very simple to make – no fancy equipment is needed at all. Here are the ingredients you will need:

The first time I made this easy focaccia bread I was thrilled with the results and knew that it had to go into our Café Ridiculously Easy Series. How does a recipe get labeled “ridiculously easy”? Well, here at The Café, it has to have certain characteristics to earn that prestigious label:

• A recipe that takes minimal effort and minimal hands-on time to put together. (Resting, rising or chilling time is not taken into consideration.)
• It’s also one that produces fabulous, super delicious results, ie, results that “appear” to have taken lots of time, talent, prowess and/or hard work.
• Ridiculously easy recipes have to work well on those busy days when time is short and expectations are high.
• And last, ridiculously easy recipes are perfect for entertaining, mostly because of the first two characteristics. They take the stress out of dinner parties and gatherings of families and/or friends and allow you more time to enjoy your guests. Bottom line? They are super simple, something anyone can do. (Shhhh! We’ll keep that part our secret.)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup warm water you may need less

THE TOPPING

• Flake sea salt
• 1 tablespoon rosemary fresh or dry
• 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, add the water, sugar, and yeast, mix and then cover for ten minutes. After ten minutes if the mixture formed a froth then go ahead with the next step.
2. In a different bowl, add the flour and the salt, then gradually add the yeast mixture and knead.
3. Knead for 5 minutes, when the dough is smooth and not sticky, add the olive oil and knead for three more minutes. Cover the dough and let it rise in warm place for an hour and a half or until it is double in size.
4. Punch the dough and knead for 1 minute.
5. Pat or roll the dough into a triangle, round, or square shape, place it on a lightly greased baking sheet. Make the dough quarter of an inch high if you want crispy focaccia, or make it ½ an inch high for thicker focaccia bread.
6. Cover the dough and let it rise again for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 374F/190C.
8. Using your fingers make few dimples on the surface of the dough.
9. Brush the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle with flake sea salt and rosemary.
10. Bake the focaccia bread for 12 to 13 minutes, until it is golden in color and has reached your desired crispness.

Notes

• You can use olive oil infused with garlic to give this focaccia bread recipe more flavor. 
• A great snack can be made using focaccia by toasting it and spreading roasted garlic and parmesan on top.
• You can prepare the dough a night ahead. Place the dough in a large container and cover tightly then refrigerate. The dough will rise slowly while in the fridge. When about to bake the dough, take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature first. Knead the dough for a minute, and it will be ready for next rise.

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