By Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 15 minutes, plus rising time
- Rating
- 4(448)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This dough recipe makes enough for three focaccias, so bake one loaf tonight and freeze the remaining dough. This can be topped with sautéed ramps or roasted potatoes, or simply brushed with good salt and olive oil. Baking it in a cake pan will allow for a nice-looking, gently domed loaf. (The New York Times)
Featured in: A Bit of Kneading but a Lot of Versatility
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Ingredients
Yield:3 balls of dough (for 9-inch focaccias)
- 3¾teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¾cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
- 11grams kosher salt (1 tablespoon)
- 10grams sugar (2 teaspoons)
- 515grams all-purpose flour (about 4 cups), more as needed
- 130grams whole wheat flour (about 1 cup)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)
1247 calories; 57 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 40 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 161 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 624 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Place 1½ cups lukewarm water (105 to 115 degrees) in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast over it. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Step
2
Stir oil, salt and sugar into yeast mixture. Stir in all-purpose and whole-wheat flour until a soft dough forms (you may need to add more all-purpose flour).
Step
3
Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, or knead in a stand mixer with a dough hook attached for about 5 minutes. If using a stand mixer, finish dough by hand, on a floured surface, for 1 minute. Add more all-purpose flour if dough feels very sticky (you want damp but not unworkable dough).
Step
4
Oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl and turn to coat it lightly with oil. Cover bowl with a dish towel. Leave in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Step
5
Divide dough into 3 equal-size balls. Tightly wrap in plastic any you are not planning to use right away and freeze. Transfer remaining balls to a baking sheet and cover loosely with a towel. Let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
Ratings
4
out of 5
448
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Cooking Notes
Gayle
The instructions end with Step 5...letting the ball of dough rest for 20 - 30 minutes. But then what? Spread it into what size loaf for baking? Bake at what temp? For how long?
AHubby
Gayle, understandably confusing but it is a dough recipe -- not a bread recipe. This is just a starting point for many different breads. One dough, many breads. Check out the parent story http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/dining/with-focaccia-a-bit-of-kneading...
Bernice Glenn
Much more like the Italian original if you use bread dough and cut down the olive oil substantially. I top mine with rosemary and for a sweeter version, just add grapes. They roast in the baking. If you are using 1 tablespoon of salt, add just 1 teaspoon to the dough, and use the rest sprinkled over the top with the rosemary (or whatever strikes your cooking fancy).
Christine Marie
Just a quick note: this dough recipe goes with Melissa's three other focaccia recipes (Ramp Focaccia, Sweet Rhubarb Focaccia, and Potato, Sage and Lemon Zest Focaccia). Each of these recipes calls for heating the oven to 450, and the baking time ranges from 20 to 35 minutes, depending on the toppings.
Pattie
Recipe leaves off without baking instructions. Try patting 1 ball of the dough into a 9-inch square oiled pan. Prick the dough here and there with a fork. Brush the top with olive oil and add your seasonings. Bake at 475 for 15 minutes.
lily
Excellent! I separated into 3 balls based on her other recipes, and spread on 3 baking sheets. One with rosemary, one with basil, and one with a little extra flaky sea salt. Drizzle with olive oil and you are all set! The plain one I under baked by just a tad so I could freeze the loaf, then bake for a few minutes after defrosting to bring back to life.
Susan O
This will become a go to bread for me. I let the dough rest 10 minutes before I kneaded it by hand, and it was perfect. It is so easy to do by hand, I will never bother with the mixer.
My Love Language is Food
I did 1/3 of the recipe for same-day use, pressed into a 9" tart pan, oiled top, generously sprinkled with dried rosemary and coarse sea salt. cooked at 450F for 30 min, Yummy and fast. Much softer, delicate crumb than my other recipe (Green's). I think my peeps preferred this one.
Jennifer
Could not get this to rise after spreading in a pan. Tasted more like a cracker. Disappointed.
JennyO
Divide into 3 balls before proofing (full recipe)Or make 2/3 recipe and bake in 9x 13 pan343 g white flour87 g whole wheat flour2-1/2 tsp instant yeast2 tsp salt1-1/2 tsp sugar1/2 c olive oil1 c waterTo bake, 425 degrees, 20-25 mins.
lu
Very dissapointing recipe. I won't try it again. I wish I went through the comments before making this. I had the same experience as other notes below. Maybe the amounts are wrong. Or maybe Melissa thinks this as a focaccia. Not the focaccia I've known.
Lou de Paris
Last step? 20 to 25 minutes, 450F !
Anna
Lovely, versatile recipe. As many comments note, it's not a fluffy, airy foc., but a denser sort. I topped the first round with caramelized onions & garlic, fresh fig and feta and cooked it according to Clark's Potato, Sage & Lemon foc. instructions. The other two rounds I froze & used later in the week as pizza dough, which worked out really well!
lexi
Oil a cake pan, pat the dough in, leaving a little gap. Bake at 450 for 25-35min.
Matt
Not what I think of when I think about focaccia.
Kairsten
I will not be going back to this recipe. Followed the directions. Baked two of the balls in a square tin the same night after letting them rise several hours. The bread turned out crunchy and golden, but dense with no air bubbles and undone on the inside. I figured I overworked the dough or just didn’t let it sit ling enough. I put the last ball of dough into the fridge for the night and then let it rise in a circular cake tin for a few hours in the AM. Same result. Very disappointed
Emily
yeast will be more active if you dissolve sugar in the water before adding the yeast i felt this needed more salt
Lisa
Sadly, this recipe didn't work for me. The dough was raw in the middle.
summitfarm
Weirdly terrible recipe! Way too much salt, and way too much olive oil.
Laurissa
This came out more like a giant, delicious, whole wheat biscuit. Even though the texture wasn't quite what I think of for foccacia, it went really well with my homemade cream of mushroom soup. I'm new to baking (never did more than beer bread or chocolate chip cookies!), so I'd love feedback as to what may have made it lighter and fluffier than traditional foccacia.
Christine Marie
Just a quick note: this dough recipe goes with Melissa's three other focaccia recipes (Ramp Focaccia, Sweet Rhubarb Focaccia, and Potato, Sage and Lemon Zest Focaccia). Each of these recipes calls for heating the oven to 450, and the baking time ranges from 20 to 35 minutes, depending on the toppings.
ashley
Divide before proofing or make less
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