My focaccia recipe for delicious bread before dinner from the Italian kitchen. I love to go out for Italian food, and a focaccia bread is a must for me. Generally, I’m always happy about small bread rolls and bread while waiting for my main course. I then only need a little butter or oil and salt to go with it and the evening is just that little bit more perfect. Of course, it could also be due to the carbohydrates, which then just do good.
Instructions for delicious schiacciata and focaccia recipe
First, put flour, yeast, warm water, fine salt, sugar and olive oil in a food processor and let it knead into a smooth dough. The longer you mix, the firmer but also airier the dough will be. Now flour the focaccia dough and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
It is best to grease a baking dish with olive oil and transfer the dough into the dish. With your fingers or a wooden spoon handle, press holes for ingredients into the dough. Now press alternately halved or whole olives and finely chopped dried tomatoes into the holes.
Finally, brush or pour olive oil over the dough so that the edges are also well saturated. For flavor, add herb seasonings, such as Italian herbs to the dough. Coarse sea salt can also be sprinkled now, or when the focaccia is done baking. For a unique taste, add sprigs of thyme or rosemary to the dough.
Preheat the oven to 200° C (top/bottom heat) and let the dough rise a little. Now let the bread bake for about 20 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Then let it cool slightly, remove the twigs if necessary and cut the focaccia into small squares.
Of course you can change the ingredients for the topping according to your preferences. If you don’t like olives, just leave them out. The same goes for the tomatoes or herbs you don’t like. The bread tastes great on its own, but I would always choose at least a few herbs to go with it.
If you’re not happy about the dried tomatoes, you can also add fresh small tomatoes to the dough, but it may make the bread a little more soggy.
Bake your own appetizer and italian dinner bread fresh and easy
I remember exactly where I deliberately ate focaccia for the first time. It was in a nice Italian restaurant and I was waiting for my pasta.
When the bread was put down for dinner as an appetizer, it still smelled really fresh and was still lukewarm. Beautifully presented with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and coarse sea salt, it was impossible to ignore.
It was the best dinner bread I’ve ever had and it was so beautifully soft, chewy and smooth. There was some resemblance to a pizza but just with me bread character. I knew I had to find a focaccia recipe at home to bake such delicious focaccia myself. I could not go to eat constantly only because of the bread now.
Focaccia and Schiacciata easy homemade – My Focaccia recipe
I tried a few focaccia recipes after that and some breads were just too flat and too firm for me. Now I have found the best and most delicious focaccia recipe for me and want to share it with you. Then you can also share my mood from back then and create your own memories.
I have now already published several bread recipes for you. Starting with sweet Brioche and ending with bread, but the Focaccia recipe remains my favorite at the moment. However, I then try to keep my food a little lighter when I bake my Italian bread.
I like to serve soup with this focaccia recipe or then salmon with edamame or broccoli afterwards. Steak also goes very well with the Italian bread, but then I often forgo other heavy side dishes. If it is to become even more Italian, there can also be a small pizza or pasta. Of course, antipasti always go well – even on a summer terrace with a cool drink at sunset.
What is the difference between focaccia and pizza?
Both Italian dishes are based on flour and yeast from the recipe. The biggest difference is in the use of olive oil and the baking pan. While a pizza is rolled out flat and topped, focaccia should be as thick and fluffy as possible. Pizza should be more crunchy, while focaccia should be bread-like with a soft crust. With the Focaccia or also Schiacciata one uses also no tomato sauce, but only herbs, olives, tomatoes and evenly completely much olive oil.
I always like to serve some olive oil and coarse salt with my dinner bread, the focaccia. However, it also tastes good with balsamic vinegar, salty butter or sour cream. I like to put the remaining olives and tomatoes in small bowls with the bread. So a perfect Italian evening can begin.
Italian focaccia recipe – classic dinner bread, fluffy appetizer
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
- 1 casserole dish
Ingredients
Yeast dough
- 400 g all-purpose flour
- 7 g instant yeast
- 260 ml water (lukewarm)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 22 g olive oil
Topping
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 dried tomatoes
- 25 olives
- 5 branches rosemary
- 2 tbsp herb spice
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
Recipe-Instruction
- Place flour, yeast, warm water, fine salt, sugar and olive oil in a stand mixer and knead until a smooth dough forms.400 g (3 ⅕ cups) all-purpose flour7 g (2 ¼ tsp) instant yeast260 ml (1 cups) water2 tsp salt1 pinch (1 Prise) sugar22 g (2 ½ tbsp) olive oil
- Flour focaccia dough and let rise covered in a warm place for one hour. Start 60 minutes timer here
- Grease the baking dish with olive oil and transfer the dough into the dish. Now press holes into the dough – either with a wooden spoon handle or with your fingers.
- Now press alternately halved olives or finely chopped dried tomatoes into the holes. Now brush or pour olive oil over the dough so that the edges are also well saturated.6 dried tomatoes25 olives2 tbsp olive oil
- Finally, add herb seasonings, such as Italian herbs to the dough. Coarse sea salt can also be spread now, or when the focaccia is baked. For a special taste, add sprigs of thyme or rosemary to the dough.2 tbsp herb spice1 tbsp coarse sea salt5 branches rosemary
- Preheat the oven to
200 °C and let the dough rise a little while it is heating up. - Now let bread bake for about 20 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Start 20 minutes timer here
- Then let cool, if desired remove the branches and cut the focaccia into small squares. I always like to serve with a little olive oil and salt, salty butter, and the remaining olives and tomatoes.
Notes
Nutrition
Get your short vacation to Italy by this Focaccia recipe simply at home. Have fun trying out different combinations. For me there is also focaccia today, pure without anything.
If you want it a little more extreme, you can also pimp the focaccia recipe with some gratinated cheese. It works wonderfully with a Grana Padano, but also Mozarella cheese.
