Please be sure to read through the recipe once or twice before starting to make this focaccia recipe. This will help you become familiar with all the tips and tricks to make the most impressively light and airy focaccia with a tender, chewy crumb.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Resting time18 hourshrs
Total Time18 hourshrs40 minutesmins
Servings: 10servings
Ingredients
5cups(625 g) all-purpose flour
2 1/4teaspoonskosher salt
2 1/4teaspoonsinstant yeast (or one 8 gram envelope)
2 1/2cupslukewarm water
3-4tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oildivided
butter for greasing the pan
2tablespoonsfresh rosemary leavesoptional
flaky sea saltsuch as Maldon
Instructions
Whisk together the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Add the water and mix vigorously to combine until no dry straks of flour remain. The dough will be very sticky and shaggy. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into another large mixing bowl (here use the largest one you own). Scrape the dough into the bowl, then turn gently to coat with the oil. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator for 12 - 24 hours. The dough should have doubled in size and look very bubbly when you take it out of the fridge.
Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9x13, 2-inch deep baking pan with a little butter and line it with parchment paper. If your pan is non-stick, you don't need the parchment paper but grease it a litle more generously. You can also use a 13x18 greased, and parchemnet lined, rimmed baking sheet. Pour in 1 tablespoons olive oil, spreading it evenly over the base of the pan. Use 2 tasblespoons oil if not using parchment paper.
Working from the outer edges, scrape the dough with your hands, or a bench scraper, upwards and over towards the centre. Turn the bowl slightly, then repeat the lift and folding action a few more times. The idea here is to deflate the dough while roughly shaping it into a ball. Dump the dough into your prapred pan then fold it over a few times to coat with oil and to form a rough rectangular shape. Place uncovered in a dry, warm spot to rise for 2-4 hours. My kitchen is not very warm and takes about 3 hours to double in size and fill the pan.
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450ºF.
Rub your hands with olive oil and dimple the dough with your fingertips by pressing down and creating deep crevices all around. If using a large baking sheet, you may have to stretch the dough gently towards the corners in order to fill the pan. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over the entire surface and scatter with rosemary leaves and flaky salt. Bake for 25-30 minutes. If the top darkens too quickly, cover with foil for the last 5-10 minutes of the cooking time.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before slicing and serving.
The rise in this dough is big. Proof in your largest mixing bowl!
Use parchment paper - this is a very wet and sticky dough. If you aren't using a non-stick pan, you will need to either generously butter AND oil the pan, or line it with parchment paper
Make sure the yeast is not old - There is nothing worse than wasting a huge amount of flour because the dough didn't rise. It has happened to me and it's incredibly disappointing. If you at all suspect your instant yeast might be past its prime, test it before adding it to the flour. Simply place it in a bowl with lukewarm water and a pinch of sugar and wait to see if any action (bubbling) occurs. If nothing happens, you need to buy new yeast.
Use a digital scale to measure the flour. This is very helpful for flawless baking.
Use a large pan. This recipe makes a good-sized focaccia so you will need a large baking pan to bake it. I like to use a 9x13 baking pan that is 2-inches deep which makes a thicker focaccia that is excellent for slab sandwiches. A 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheet also works and and makes a thinner focaccia great for slicing and serving. If your pans are not large enough, you could use two 9-inch cake pans. Just be sure to line those also with parchment paper.
Use the oven for the second rise. If like me, you have a cold kitchen during the winter months, place the pan in the oven with the light on for its second rise. The dough will still need 2-4 hours to rise but I find on my cold counter it doesn't ever rise quite as much no matter how long I leave it. Just make sure you have taken the pan out of the oven before you preheat it!!
Freeze: Focaccia is best eaten the day it's made, but it does freeze well to use later. Place cooled sliced pieces in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen on a baking sheet in a 325° F oven until warmed through.