No Knead Italian Focaccia Bread

No Knead Italian Focaccia Bread- Can you believe I am calling a Focaccia Recipe Easy? If you've never made focaccia this is the recipe to get you started!

Here are other variations you will love as well: Tomato Herb Focaccia (Best, Easiest Recipe), Apple, Brie, and Herb Focaccia Bread, Sweet Focaccia with Raspberries and Balsamic.

Why I love this Recipe

It is an Italian NO KNEAD focaccia recipe that will get you the perfect crisp and bubbly, soft, and fragrant olive oil bread! It is one of the most fun and easiest breads to make.

This NO FAIL RECIPE you don't want to miss. Be the person that makes focaccia on the regular- your friends and family will thank you for it! This easy No Knead Focaccia bread recipe is going to blow your mind!

Jump to:

• Why I love this Recipe
• Great for Beginning Bread Bakers
• What is Focaccia Bread?
• Ingredients
• How to Serve
• Thickness Tips
• Storing Tips
• Can I Make Focaccia In Less Time?
• Toppings Suggestions
• Focaccia Story: Nonno Livio's Bribe
• More Delicious Recipes for YOU
• No-Knead Italian Focaccia Bread

Great for Beginning Bread Bakers

• The no-knead, 4-ingredient dough takes 5 minutes to mix together. The hardest part is waiting for the long rise!
• It requires no special equipment, no tricky technique, or scoring.
• If you have a 9×13-inch baking pan and your fingertips (for dimpling), that is all you need. Making the deep dimples is the best part.
• The taste and texture are unmatched and unique: soft and pillowy, olive oil golden crust, and it’s completely irresistible.

This is an easy focaccia recipe anyone can make!

What is Focaccia Bread?

Focaccia (Italian pronunciation: foh-kah-chuh) is a flat oven-baked Italian bread similar in style and texture to pizza; in some places, it is called "pizza bianca".

Focaccia is an olive oil-rich Italian bread that resembles a sponge or a springy mattress. The surface of the dough is coated in olive oil and salt- for the most simple version.

It’s crispy and golden on the top and bottom crusts, and inside, it has an airy crumb (meaning there are tons of air holes, big and small, that squish in the best way possible). It is ONE OF MY FAVORITE BREADS.

Ingredients

• Flour: bread flour or all-purpose flour will work equally well for focaccia.
• Yeast: instant yeast is my preference, but active dry yeast works just as well. See recipe box for instructions on how to use active-dry yeast in place of instant.
• Salt: I say this all the time, but a big part of making a good loaf of bread comes down simply to using the right amount of salt given the amount of flour you are using by weight. 
• Flake Salt: this is used to top the focaccia and give it a nice salty crust. FLAKE SALT I LOVE!! MALDONS
• Water: There is a lot of water in this dough it has a very high hydration level. The water helps produce a light, airy, pillowy dough.
• Good Olive oil: Olive oil both in the bottom of the pan and on top of the dough is essential for encouraging nice browning, flavor, and that traditional oiliness we all love about focaccia. Great Basic Extra Virgin Olive Oil for this Recipe COLAVITA

How to Serve

Focaccia bread can be eaten as it is. It can be cut into a variety of shapes, including squares, long skinny rectangles, triangles.

Since focaccia is pretty thick, focaccia can be sliced in half and used for making sandwiches. It's also a tasty addition to a bread basket or an accompaniment to a bowl of soup or a salad. 

Thickness Tips

Focaccia is sometimes thick (as seen in all of these photos) or sometimes very thin depending on your preference and style. I prefer thicker focaccia, so I make it in a classic 13X9 glass baking dish with a hight of 2 inches.

If you like a thinner focaccia you can follow the exact same recipe and use a Cookie sheet with a hight of 0.75 inches.

Either way you like it- focaccia has the best texture!

Storing Tips

Storing: The focaccia will keep at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for 2 days. Reheat in a 375-degree oven for 10 minutes.

To freeze focaccia, cut it in pieces, wrap each piece in plastic wrap, place in resealable plastic freezer bag, and freeze for up to 1 month.

Can I Make Focaccia In Less Time?

Yes, you can! Start-to-finish it can be made in about three hours. The finished bread will not be as pillowy, but it will still be light, airy, and delicious.

• To skip the long rise (12 hours and up to 48 hours), simply let the mixed dough rise at room temperature until doubled, about 2 hours. Then proceed with the recipe, knowing the second rise will only take about 30 minutes.

Focaccia is a great treat to wrap and bring to a friend or neighbor!

Toppings Suggestions

I recommend starting your focaccia journey with this plain recipe that does not include toppings. The salty olive oil brine is enough to make this a tasty treat all by itself. Once you taste it you can explore options by adding different toppings.

Common focaccia bread toppings include olives, mushrooms, green onions, red onions, or cherry tomatoes, and fruit with cheese. Fresh rosemary focaccia is also quite popular and sage is another herb that is often used instead of rosemary.

In Italy, there are a lot of regional-based focaccia variations. For example, in the Northwest of Italy, there is a popular recipe for focaccia dolce (sweet focaccia).

It's made with a focaccia base that is sprinkled with sugar and incorporated into the dough are raisins, honey, or other sweet ingredients (courtesy of All About Focaccia Bread).

I listed my favorite variations of focaccia at the top of this post.

Focaccia Story: Nonno Livio's Bribe

Every summer morning at our beach home in Italy my Nonno Livio walked to the market to get the newspaper. He went separate from my nonna and aunts who went for the other food items.

He loved when we went with him, but he often went early (before 8 a.m)... and those lazy summer mornings were meant for snoozing as the salty sea breeze gently waltzed through the window.

Nonno cherished our company so much he would bribe us to come with him.

His bribes included a sweet pastry or savory bread, like focaccia, and even gelato! (shhh! don't tell Nonna Laura).

The way he came and gave us mustache kisses and little pinches on our arm to wake us up is a memory I can feel to this day. I didn't really need the bribe to want to go with him, but I happily took the offer.

I wrote a story about Slow Walk with Nonno Livio, if you would like a little more into that experience.

More Delicious Recipes for YOU

Softest No Knead Bread

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Arugula, Apple, and Pistachio Salad in Parmigiano Cups

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Made with Amore, Elena

From my Cucina (Kitchen) to your Table- Mangia! Mangia! (Eat!)

Have you checked out my NEW CBE PRODUCTS? Take a look at the 2-in-1 cutting and charcuterie board, gorgeous apron, and unique pasta server that you that you absolutely need. The wood products are all handmade in Salt Lake City, Utah. They make great gifts as well!

Recipe adapted from Basically

It’s one of the simplest focaccia bread recipes that barely takes any work to create an unbelievably tasty Italian bread! Perfectly crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle, perfect Focaccia Bread every single time!

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