Easy Focaccia
Focaccia is an Italian bread typically made with lots of olive oil and a sea salt brine. This keeps the bread incredibly moist and also gives it such a nice crunch, it’s as if it were fried. It also has this absolutely beautiful dimpling on the top that allows for pools of brine to soak into the top of the bread while it bakes (beautiful source of this Ligurian style focaccia is Samin Nosrat and her documentary Salt Fat Acid Heat). Being a combination of saltiness, breadiness, and friedness means that basically, if we are living our best lives, everyone should be eating this at all times, right?
This sea salt focaccia is very easy to make and a great bread to start with if you’ve never made homemade bread before. One warning, though: On the off chance that you won’t be able to finish it all within a week (very slim chance), I highly recommend freezing it.
Include your kids
- Let them “feed” the yeast for proofing and learn about how it feeds off sugar!
- They can stir the flour and salt, practicing counting to five while you measure out the flour.
- Kids can try mixing up the dough with a wooden spoon, and learn how to knead the dough. Give them guidance on this part and maybe a little assistance 🙂
- They’ll see and learn how bread rises and grows because the yeast is living and making bubbles! Point out how huge it is after the first rest time!
- They can learn about the dimpling process and make the dimples themselves.
Focaccia
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 5 cups AP flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 cup olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon salt for the brine
- sea salt to top
Instructions
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Measure out the warm water and stir in the sugar until it is dissolved. Add the yeast, stir lightly, and let sit for 15 minutes in a warm place.
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In a large bowl, stir together the flour and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.
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When the yeast has proofed, add it to the flour along with 1/2 cup of olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
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Transfer the dough to a clean surface and kneed until it becomes smooth (a few minutes).
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Coat the bowl lightly in olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled.
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Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil into a large jelly roll pan. If you need a bit more to have a generous coat over the entire surface of the pan, add a bit more.
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When the dough is done with its first rising, flatten it out into the pan.
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Begin pressing down on the dough with the pads of your index, middle, and ring fingers. Use this process to slowly stretch the dough out to the size of the pan.
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Flip the dough once or twice during the dimpling process to coat thoroughly in olive oil. Do not be afraid to make deep imprints and even poke through the dough entirely.
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When you are done, set the pan in a warm place to rise again for 1 hour.
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While it is rising, mix the brine. Measure out 2 tablespoons of warm water and 1 teaspoon of salt and whisk together in a bowl. Add to this 2 tablespoons of olive oil and whisk thoroughly.
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Preheat the oven to 425F and brush the top of the dough with the brine, using all of it.
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Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and bake for about 25 minutes or until it is a golden brown.
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Cut immediately and serve.
