Italian Olive Oil Bread Focaccia, Perfectly Easy for Beginners!
Focaccia is one of the classic Italian breads. It is said that when Italians were making pizza, they found they didn't have enough toppings. So after baking the pizza, they casually spread some oil on the leftover dough, sprinkled a bit of seasoning, and tossed it into the stone oven to bake with the residual heat. As it baked, the entire room was filled with the aroma of fresh bread. When served fresh out of the oven, the bread was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. After tasting it, you'll never forget it. Time 1 hour Difficulty ★
Ingredients
Steps
Slow fermentation overnight for better flavor. - Place the dough in a container and refrigerate overnight. Take it out three hours before you want to eat. - Put parchment paper in the baking pan and spread a little olive oil on the paper. If you have hard malt powder at home, you can sprinkle a bit over the parchment to add a crispy texture.
Take the dough out of the container, stretch it slightly, and place it onto the parchment in the baking pan. Cover it with another sheet of parchment to prevent drying out. - Let it rest at room temperature for about 2 hours to rise.
- Remove the top parchment paper. Stretch the dough with your hands until it covers the entire baking pan, then press lots of small holes into it with your fingers (make sure to press all the way through). - Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the dough. Sprinkle sea salt and rosemary on top (if you don’t have rosemary, skip it or try cumin, sesame, or chili powder, but I recommend not adding too much seasoning for the first try to enjoy the original flavor). - Let the dough proof for another 30 minutes outside. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). - Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. The bread won’t rise too much but will turn golden brown.
- Adjust the temperature higher for crispier bread or lower for softer bread. - If the bread is still pale, it means it isn’t done. Keep baking!
For same-day preparation and eating: - The method is the same as above, with the difference being that the dough can be placed in a large insulated container with a lid and proofed at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours (or in a bowl covered with a towel). - After fermentation, place it onto the parchment paper in the baking pan and follow the remaining steps above. - The advantage of method 1 is the longer fermentation in the fridge results in better flavor and texture, but same-day baking still turns out well.