When my kids were little they used to call this “salty bread”. When Abby’s college friends asked for it they called it “Fa-fa-fa” (this was before Focaccia was a “thing” in the US). I’ve been making this for years, from my kids being in pre-school, through their college years, and now as they are forming and growing their own families–and making me a Grandma!

I serve this often with Italian-style dishes, most of our BBQ meals, soup, or as a sandwich bread.

Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to pull together, I promise! If you have a bread machine, use it! Just add all the ingredients and click Dough Only. Then proceed to step 5 below.

The top photo is a half tray; this one is a full batch, half salt and half olive and feta.

My granddaughter, Blaze, did this one with softened red onion rings and halved cherry tomatoes 🙂

Personally, I don’t think that focaccia keeps very well—it gets stale fast—my daughters disagree, though. They both enjoy a morning breakfast sandwich on leftover toasted focaccia.

Focaccia

Makes 1 full sheet pan

INGREDIENTS

• 2¼ teaspoons yeast
• 2 tablespoons gluten, optional but highly recommended
• 4 cups (500g) bread flour—all-purpose flour can be substituted in a pinch
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons dry milk powder, optional, but recommended
• 1¼ cups warm water, about 110°
• ¼ olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl and the baking sheet
• Kosher salt, to finish

DIRECTIONS

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine yeast, gluten, flour, sugar, salt and dry milk powder.  Stir until well combined.
2. With mixer on low, slowly add warm water to flour mixture.  After all the water is added, slowly mix in olive oil.  Mix for one minute or until well combined
3. Stop mixer, scrape down sides of bowl, and change from the paddle attachment to the dough hook attachment. 
4. Restart mixer on medium-high speed and, using the dough hook, beat until dough comes together to form a smooth ball. If dough seems too wet, add some flour, 1 tablespoons at a time.  If dough seems too dry, add some more olive oil,1 tablespoon at a time. It should take anywhere from 4 to 8 minutes to complete this step. HELPFUL HINTS: Focaccia dough is often sticky and may not form a perfect ball like some bread doughs. The dough should still be smooth and elastic, though. A properly kneaded dough will be smooth, elastic, and will leave a slight indentation when poked with a finger. Try not to overmix, as this can result in a dense focaccia.
5. Remove dough from mixing bowl and place in a large lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap, or a moist towel.  Set aside in a warm place, and leave until dough has doubled in size, approx. 1½-2 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 425°.  Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet.  Using a pastry brush, brush olive oil all over the baking sheet. 
7. Place risen dough on prepared baking sheet and flip it once so both sides are covered in olive oil.
8. Using fingertips, press and stretch focaccia across the entire baking sheet.  Make sure the dough gets into the corners and near the edges. If the dough seems too “elastic-y” let it rest as is for another 10-15 minutes, then try again.
9. Once dough has spread across the baking sheet gently poke with fingertips, making shallow indentations all over the the dough. If there are some bubbles in the dough, let them be. They are the stars of the show! Dribble another 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil over the dough, and gently spread the olive oil over the top of the dough.  Some of the oil will settle into the indentations. This is a good thing.
10. Generously sprinkle the dough with Kosher salt or another coarse salt. Start with 1 teaspoon full. It’s hard to estimate, given the different kinds of salt. My rule of thumb: Give the dough a good shower of salt! 
11. Put the entire sheet pan into the hot oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes.  To check if the focaccia is done, gently lift a corner of the dough up and look at it’s bottom. If it’s nicely browned, the dough is done.
12. Let dough cool for a bit, then cut into slices with a pizza cutter. For serving with meals, I like skinny rectangles. For sandwiches, squares.

Variations

Some times I divide the dough on the sheet pan in half. Half I shower with salt, the other half with sliced olives and grated parmesan or crumbled feta. If you have fresh rosemary, finely chop, and sprinkle on the dough along with the salt. You could also do this as a half-and-half as above, half salt, half rosemary and salt. Blaze has used red onions softened with boiling water combined with drained and halved cherry tomatoes 🙂

My friend Joyce gave me this recipe when our kids were still in preschool. She had plans to sell packages of the Focaccia mix and loaves of her Focaccia at local Farmer’s Markets. Sadly, she passed away before that dream was realized. Her recipe, and memory, live on.