Focaccia with Rosemary and Olive Oil Recipe
Focaccia is a fluffy, flat bread with olive oil and herbs, especially popular in Liguria. Italians eat it for breakfast, as a daytime snack, or instead of regular bread with soup or salad. It’s a bit like a cross between bread and pizza – soft inside, slightly crisp on top, scented with rosemary.
In Liguria, focaccia is eaten for breakfast dipped in cappuccino or as a daytime snack. The classic version with rosemary and coarse salt is the staple bake in many local bakeries.
Rosemary focaccia is a bread that smells like a little bakery in a Ligurian town – a soft, springy interior with a slightly crisp, deeply olive-oil-soaked crust. The characteristic dimples in the dough hold onto the olive oil and salt, creating tiny pockets full of flavor, while fresh rosemary adds an intense herbal aroma. It’s something between bread and a snack that you can eat at any time of day.
Why this version works
- The high water content in the dough creates large bubbles and a light, open crumb.
- The mix of olive oil and water in the dimples gives a juicy yet crisp surface.
- Two proofing stages build flavor and structure without complicated folding.
- Generously oiling the tray creates a delicately “fried”, golden bottom crust.
Chef's tips
Give the dough plenty of time to rise – even if it doubles in size earlier, an extra 30–40 minutes will make the focaccia fluffier and full of air bubbles. Don’t be shy with the olive oil before baking: the tray should be well greased and the top generously drizzled, otherwise the crust will turn out dry. Make the dimples with your whole fingertips, pressing almost to the bottom of the tray – not just for looks, but so the olive oil has somewhere to collect.
How to serve
Serve the focaccia still slightly warm, cut into rectangles, as a side to soups (especially tomato soups) or simple salads with rocket and tomatoes. It also works great as a sandwich base – slice it horizontally and fill with mozzarella, Parma ham, and rocket for a quick workday lunch. For a casual get-together with wine, serve it on a large board with olives, cheeses, and a simple olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip.
Watch out for
- Don’t dust with too much flour – a stiff dough will bake into a dry, poorly aerated focaccia.
- If you cut the rising time short, the focaccia will be flat and dense instead of springy.
- Too little oil under the dough encourages sticking and a tough, pale bottom crust.
Substitutions
- You can replace up to 50 ml of the water with milk for a more delicate, softer crumb.
- Instead of fresh rosemary, use 1 teaspoon dried; you can mix some of it directly into the dough.
- You can swap type 550 flour for pizza flour or a light, high‑protein bread flour.
Ingredients
- flour - 500 g
- lukewarm water - 320 ml
- instant dry yeast - 7 g
- olive oil - 60 ml
- salt - 10 g
- fresh rosemary chopped, plus sprigs for decoration - 2 tablespoons
- coarse sea salt for sprinkling on top - 1 teaspoon
Preparation
- Put the flour, dry yeast, and salt into a large bowl. Mix with a spoon until everything is evenly combined and there are no visible lumps of yeast.
- Add the lukewarm water (it should feel like a pleasant warm bath, not hot) and 40 ml olive oil. Mix with a spoon or your hand until you get a very sticky, uniform dough with no dry patches of flour – it should stretch rather than fall apart.
- Knead the dough by hand in the bowl or on a lightly floured surface for about 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic and it starts to come away from your hands. If it sticks a lot, rub a little olive oil on your hands instead of adding more flour.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it back in the bowl, and brush the surface with a thin layer of olive oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for about 60 minutes, until it has at least doubled in size and feels pillow‑soft when gently pressed.
- Generously grease a 30×40 cm baking tray with 1–2 tablespoons olive oil, including the sides. Gently transfer the risen dough to the center of the tray, trying not to push out the air bubbles – it should wobble slightly as it sits on the tray.
- Gently stretch the dough outwards with your fingers, pressing it towards the edges of the tray until it fills it evenly. If it keeps springing back, leave it for 5–10 minutes to relax the gluten, then stretch it to the corners without tearing.
- Cover the tray with a kitchen towel and leave for another 20–30 minutes. The dough is ready when it has visibly puffed up and, when lightly pressed with a fingertip, the indentation slowly springs back and the surface feels bouncy, not flat.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (top and bottom heat). Dip your fingertips in olive oil and make lots of deep dimples in the dough, pressing almost to the bottom of the tray. The surface should look like a bumpy moon, without any tears.
- In a small bowl, mix 20 ml olive oil with 2 tablespoons water and drizzle it evenly over the top so that the mixture collects in the dimples. Sprinkle evenly with finely chopped rosemary and coarse salt.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the top is golden‑brown and the bottom lightly browned and dry to the touch. When you tap the underside, the focaccia should sound hollow and slightly echoey. After taking it out, you can drizzle with a thin stream of olive oil, leave for 5–10 minutes, then cut.
Storage
Store cooled focaccia pieces in an airtight container or wrapped in foil at room temperature for up to 1–2 days. For longer storage, freeze and reheat briefly in the oven before serving so the crust becomes crisp again.
I most often bake focaccia on Friday evening when I know Saturday will be a long day out of the house – I pack a few pieces in a box as an emergency snack. I also sometimes top half of the tray with thinly sliced red onion so I get two flavors at once.
