The easiest 4-ingredient focaccia BASE... completely customizable with the toppings up to you!
Read below for the recipe and video examples!
Recipe Information:
Makes 12+ servings (one 9x13 pan)
Total time: ~3 hours
Ingredients:
2 cups + 2 tbsp lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant dry or active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups bread flour (minimum protein level should be 11-12%)
1 1/2 tsp fine salt
A generous amount of high quality olive oil
Toppings:
3-4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary, minced
~3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
Flaky salt!! (Maldon has my heart)
Recipe:
*If using dried active yeast: In a large bowl, combine the yeast with lukewarm water. Give it a stir and let it sit for 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to dissolve. After 5 minutes, revisit the mixture, give it another stir, and add the flour and salt.
*If using instant yeast: skip the wait! In a large bowl, combine the yeast, water, bread flour, and fine salt.
Mix the four ingredients together using a rubber spatula. Continue mixing until a rough, wet dough ball has formed with no visible dry spots. Let your dough ball rest in the bowl for 15 minutes.
Time to begin your stretching and folding process! Every 15 minutes for one hour (4 sets total), stretch up one side of the dough, holding down the other, and pull it over itself. Next, turn the bowl 90 degrees and apply the same method to the next side. Continue this method 2 more times (4 total), until you have rotated the bowl 360 degrees and each side of the dough has been stretched and folded over itself. This constitutes one set. Allow the stretched dough to rest for 15 minutes before repeating the process. Complete this process for a total of 4 sets, the entire cycle will take about an hour. *Note that this process does not need to be perfect! The first stretch set will likely rip and be the most difficult, this is okay! The gluten network will develop during each rest period until the dough becomes strong and elastic. Additionally, there is no need to stress if your folds are uneven or your timing is off... your dough will still survive!
Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper (if you have it - no worries if not), and drizzle the bottom of your pan (or the top of the parchment paper) with a generous amount of olive oil.
Transfer your fully-stretched and folded dough ball into the prepared pan. Let it rest for 10 minutes before using oiled fingers to stretch the dough to fill the pan. If your dough is too rough to stretch, let it sit for 5 minutes and try again!
Place your dough-filled pan in a warm spot for 1 hour to allow the focaccia to rise. By the time it is ready, the dough should have doubled in size and will ~jiggle~ when moving the pan. If your dough is not at this point after an hour, let it continue to sit in the warmth until it matches this description. Looks are more important than time here!
While your dough rises, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and prepare your toppings. I like my toppings minced/diced to allow for even distribution + consistent bites, but this is completely up to your preferences. Toppings can also be customized to include your favorite flavors! See the note below for more information.
When your dough has fully risen, apply a drizzle of olive oil to its surface (and to your fingers). Use oiled fingers to press into the dough (fingers only, not full palms), creating dimples all across the top of the dough, reaching the bottom of the pan. Ensure your entire focaccia is covered with dimples!
Press your toppings into the dimples that you have created, sprinkling the flaky salt (the most important part) all over the surface of your dough. One last time, let the focaccia sit and rest for 5 minutes.
Bake the focaccia for ~25 minutes until golden brown, the surface appears dry, and the edges of the bread begin to pull away from the pan. *See a note on the appearance of toppings below!
Let your focaccia cool and enjoy!
*Also feel free to use the main 4 ingredients as your focaccia base, and add any toppings of your choosing! Toppings can either be added to the original dough mixture, or at the end just before baking. If your toppings brown in the oven before your bread is done, loosely cover the entire surface with tin foil for the remainder of the baking process. (Pro tip: sundried tomatoes make the most flavorful focaccia everrrr)
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