Easy Focaccia Bread (No Knead)

The water quantity is correct. Don't freak out, you will be fine.The dough is wet and sticky. This is normal. The water quantity is correct. Don't freak out, you will be fine. It might look a bit different to the video too - don't worry! Focaccia is meant to be sticky, the pan does all the work holding it in, you'll be just fine!

Please see "Sample Schedule" in the body of the blog post for variations on rising time and temperature.

This is the pan that I use for making focaccia - it is so great and nothing sticks! Using a nonstick pan is very important or your focaccia may stick. You can line it with a layer of parchment if you are worried, or add some butter first and then olive oil for insurance but your best bet is to use something nonstick and metal.

To make the focaccia a little thinner to get a thin and crispy situation, scale the recipe by about ⅔ and bake in a quarter sheet pan, or leave the recipe whole, and bake in a half sheet pan for a larger scale, thinner focaccia.

I recently tried making my focaccia recipe in Texas muffin pans and it worked out great - a full recipe of focaccia makes 9 Focaccia 'muffins'. To make in muffin pans, divide the risen dough into 9 portions (about 125g each), and place into the oiled muffin tin cavities. Rise as directed (it may take a little less time), then dimple and bake for about 20 minutes at the temperature directed in the recipe. Check after 20 minutes and bake until you have reached your desired level of doneness. I tried making them in regular sized muffin pans but didn't like it as much as I felt that they dried out.

To make tomato focaccia: Roast 800g cherry or grape tomatoes, 10-12 garlic cloves, a sprig of rosemary in olive oil on a sheet pan at 325°f / 160°c for an hour, shaking the pan occasionally. The tomatoes will cook down and the garlic cloves will soften. Allow to cool, then place onto the top of the dough before dimpling, along with some of the oil. Bake as per the recipe.

To make Onion and Potato Focaccia: Caramelise about 700g thinly sliced onion on medium to low heat, stirring often, until brown and jammy. Alternatively use a caramelised onion jam or relish. Spread the risen and dimpled dough with the caramelised onion, then top with about 120g thinly sliced potato which has been tossed with a little olive oil, chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Bake as directed - the potato will get slightly crispy on top.

To make olive focaccia: Top the dough with chopped olives of your choice (add as many as you want, measure with your heart), then dimple as directed. You can add chunks of feta in here too.

To make everything bagel focaccia: Make the dough as directed, but after the autolyse phase (where you leave it to stand for 5 minutes), mix in 160g finely chopped white or brown onion, and 3 Tbsp everything but the bagel seasoning. Mix in well then continue with the stretch and folds. You can also use scallions (spring onions) in the place of onion. Before baking, either before or after dimpling, sprinkle 1 Tbsp everything seasoning over the bread.

To make Parsley oil (or other herb oil) focaccia: Make a parsley oil - rough recipe (please excuse the cups!) is the leaves of a large ish bunch of parsley (if you grab the stems of the bunch it should be about a fist full), blended well with about 1 cup of olive oil 1-2 cloves of garlic, the zest of 1 lemon, and about 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice. Blend in a high speed blender or using an immersion blender, then adjust to taste with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice or oil. Use the parsley oil to coat the bottom of the pan when you add the dough in, then add more on top before dimpling. Store the parsley oil in an airtight container in the fridge - we have it on top of soup or bread or part of a salad dressing and it is so good!

To make Cheeseburger Focaccia: I make a cheeseburger pizza all the time and we had leftover ingredients from making burgers the other night so I cheeseburgered my focaccia. Brown off about 250g ground beef / beef mince, browning well. Sprinkle with salt and set aside on a paper towel to cool. For a vegetarian option, you can brown off finely chopped mushrooms - you may need more as they shrink down. To make cheeseburger focaccia, top the risen dough with either caramelised onions (notes in the caramelised onion topping above), or an onion relish or jam, which is what I use if I haven't made onions. Follow with about 150g shredded low moisture mozzarella cheese, then the browned meat, then another 50g mozzarella cheese (I just grated 200g cheese and divided it up, no need to measure the portions). Dimple and bake as directed. When baked, finish with pickles and burger sauce of your choice.

To make butternut, goat's cheese, brown butter and sage focaccia: Make the focaccia as usual up to the second rise, then before putting in the oven top with 300g (approximate, add more if you like) roasted butternut or pumpkin cubes, and about 150g crumbled chevre goat's cheese (feta would be good too). Add salt and pepper and bake as directed. While the focaccia is in the oven, melt about 150g butter (I use salted) in a small frying pan. When the butter is melted, add a big handful of fresh sage leaves and continue to cook, stirring often, until the butter has browned and the sage leaves are crispy. Transfer to a bowl to stop the cooking process. Once the focaccia has come out of the oven, leave it to stand for 5-10 minutes before topping with the brown butter mixture. If you are making it ahead, leave off the brown butter and sage mixture until just before serving so that it doesn't go soggy. You may be best to remove the bread from the pan before adding the brown butter sage so that it doesn't cause sticking.

To make Focaccia Rolls: Make the dough with all bread flour and use 500g water - this makes the dough a little less wet and much easier to shape. I have done it as written in the recipe with all bread flour and it works fine too. After the first rise, heavily oil your baking pan. Turn out the dough onto a lightly oiled surface and divide into 12 pieces using a scale - they should be about 90g each. Shape each into a ball by using the counter to create tension - by slapping the edge of the dough down onto the counter and folding the dough over to form a ball (there is a video of this on my instagram page if you need a visual), then place into the pan. It doesn't need to be perfect! Leave to rise and then dimple and bake as written in the recipe. I finished mine with the garlic butter from my garlic knots recipe.