Sea Salt & Rosemary Focaccia

This sea salt and rosemary focaccia is soft, tender, chewy and full of flavour. It is easy to make and is great as a side dish, served with dips or for making sandwiches. Naturally vegan/dairy-free.

This sea salt and rosemary focaccia is one of my all-time favourite breads to bake. It is easy to make, doesn’t require any complicated shaping and it tastes so good!

As breads go, focaccia is a fairly quick one to make. It does still require two rises but it is very quick to throw together (if you have a stand mixer that is), doesn’t take long to shape and only needs 15-20 minutes in the oven.

I often make a batch of dough in the morning and have a loaf of fresh sea salt and rosemary focaccia ready in time for lunch.

This is a great bread for dipping into hummus or other dips and it also makes fabulous sandwiches. It is also lovely served alongside a soup, stew or casserole for dunking.

What Is Focaccia?:

Focaccia is a traditional Italian flatbread. There are many different regional varieties of focaccia throughout Italy, including some sweet ones.

Probably the most well known variety outside of Italy is focaccia al rosmarino – focaccia with rosemary.

It is a light, soft, chewy bread, kind of similar to pizza dough. It has a distinctive dimpled top and is flavoured with olive oil and rosemary. It also happens to be naturally vegan.

It is served as an antipasto, appetiser, table bread, snack or may be used to make sandwiches. This sea salt and rosemary focaccia recipe is my version of focaccia al rosmarino.

How To Make Sea Salt And Rosemary Focaccia:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

Place the bread flour in the bowl of your stand mixer (if you have one) and add the salt to one side and the yeast to the other (yeast doesn't like to come into direct contact with salt).

Pour in the olive oil and three quarters of the lukewarm water. Mix, adding the rest of the water gradually, until you have picked up all the flour from the sides of the bowl and formed a soft, sticky dough. The dough should be quite wet - much softer than a standard bread dough.

Knead with the mixer on a medium speed for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will still be very sticky.

If you don't have a stand mixer, oil a work surface with olive oil and turn the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until it feels elastic; it will still be very sticky - resist the urge to add more flour. A dough scraper will come in very handy if you are kneading by hand!

Oil a 2-3 litre square or rectangular plastic container (you can use a bowl if you don't have one, using a square container just makes it a bit easier to shape once it has proved.), place the dough into the oiled container, cover, and leave it to rise until it is at least doubled in size - about 1-2 hours in a warm place or overnight in the fridge.

Line an approx 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13in baking/roasting tin with baking parchment and sprinkle it with semolina or cornmeal. Carefully tip the dough out onto the baking tray.

Don't knock it back as you usually would, just oil your hands and stretch the dough out into a rectangle, filling the tin. Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm or place the tray inside a large plastic bag and leave to prove for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the dough is puffy and doubled in size.

Meanwhile heat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.

To make the dimpled effect, oil your fingers to stop them from sticking to the dough, then prod the dough all over with your fingers, pushing them all the way through to the bottom. The dough will deflate a little, not to worry.

Drizzle the dough with olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt, oregano and rosemary.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Top Tips:

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.

Focaccia dough should be very wet and sticky; this in combination with a hot oven is what creates the chewy, holey structure. Don’t be tempted to add more flour!

If you are lucky enough to have a stand mixer then you should definitely use it to knead the dough as it is a very sticky job to do by hand! If you do have to knead by hand then a dough scraper will come in very handy!

If you want, you can give the dough it’s first rise overnight in the fridge rather than at room temperature. This breaks up the workload and gives the bread an even better flavour.

Feel free to vary the toppings to suit you - olives, cheese, tomatoes, onions, nuts, herbs, grapes, roasted peppers etc.

Use a good quality olive oil for the best flavour; though do feel free to use a mild flavoured one if you aren’t keen on a strong olive oil flavour. I tend to use a mild olive oil in the dough then an extra virgin one for drizzling on top.

Sprinkling the tray with semolina or cornmeal is optional but it does give the loaf a lovely crust.

Can I Bake It In Advance?:

Unfortunately focaccia goes stale quite quickly so I don’t recommend making it in advance. It ideally needs to be eaten on the day it is baked. It will still be good the next day, but will be a little drier and less soft.

Any leftovers can be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months (freeze on the day it is baked to retain freshness). Allow to defrost at room temperature then warm through before serving.

More Vegan Bread Recipes:

Vegan challah bread

Vegan Hokkaido milk bread

Vegan brioche

Vegan naan bread

Vegan wholemeal maple cinnamon rolls

Pumpkin bread rolls

Vegan cornbread

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5 from 2 votes

Sea Salt & Rosemary Focaccia

This sea salt and rosemary focaccia is soft, tender, chewy and full of flavour. It is easy to make and is great as a side dish, served with dips or for making sandwiches. Naturally vegan/dairy-free.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Keyword bread

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Rising Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

• 500 g (4 ¼ cups) white bread flour
• 10 g (2 tsp) salt
• 7 g (2 tsp) fast action/instant yeast
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil (plus extra for drizzling)
• 350 ml (1 + ½ cups) lukewarm water
• semolina or cornmeal for dusting (optional)
• fresh rosemary
• dried oregano (optional)
• flaky sea salt (I use Maldon)

Instructions

• Place the flour in the bowl of your stand mixer (if you have one) and add the salt to one side and the yeast to the other. Pour in the olive oil and three quarters of the water. Mix, adding the rest of the water gradually, until you have picked up all the flour from the sides of the bowl and formed a soft, sticky dough. The dough should be quite wet - much softer than a standard bread dough.
• Knead with the mixer on a medium speed for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will still be very sticky. If you don't have a stand mixer, oil a work surface with olive oil and turn the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until it feels elastic; it will still be very sticky - resist the urge to add more flour.
• Oil a 2-3 litre square or rectangular plastic container (you can use a bowl if you don't have one, using a square container just makes it a bit easier to shape once it has proved.), place the dough into the oiled container, cover, and leave to rise until at least doubled in size - about 1-2 hours in a warm place or overnight in the fridge.
• Line an approx 23x33cm / 9x13in baking/roasting tin with baking parchment and sprinkle it with semolina or cornmeal. Carefully tip the dough out onto the baking tray. Don't knock it back as you usually would, just oil your hands and stretch the dough out into a rectangle, filling the tin. Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm or place the tray inside a large plastic bag and leave to prove for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the dough is puffy and doubled in size.
• Meanwhile heat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.
• To make the dimpled effect, oil your fingers to stop them from sticking to the dough, then prod the dough all over with your fingers, pushing all the way through to the bottom. The dough will deflate a little, not to worry.
• Drizzle the dough with olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt, oregano and rosemary.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

• For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
• If you want, you can give the dough it’s first rise overnight in the fridge rather than at room temperature. This breaks up the workload and gives the bread an even better flavour.
• Feel free to vary the toppings to suit you - olives, cheese, tomatoes, onions, nuts, herbs, grapes, roasted peppers etc.
• Sprinkling the tray with semolina or cornmeal is optional but it does give the loaf a lovely crust.

Adapted from How to Bake by Paul Hollywood