The Best Easy Focaccia Bread -

The Best Easy Focaccia Bread

Deliciously crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Full of garlic and herbs, perfect for dunking in soup or making a sandwich with it.

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Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chewy, crusty

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 1 20

Servings: people

Calories: 190kcal

Author: Candace Bourzac

Ingredients

1/4 ounce yeast (1 yeast packet)
3/4 cup water (split)
2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon basil, fresh
1 tablespoon oregano, fresh
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon corn meal

Instructions

To a large bowl, add 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside. Spread corn meal over a 9x13 pan, set aside. Preheat oven to 160 degrees. After it has preheated, wait another 10 minutes and then turn it off. This is where you will proof your bread.
In a 2 cup measuring cup, add the packet of yeast, 2 teaspoons sugar and 1/4 cup of the water. Stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes.
While yeast is resting, chop the 1 tablespoon of fresh basil and 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano.
Into a large bowl, add the yeast mixture and 1 cup of the flour. Mix together with a spatula till it starts to combine.
Add remaining 1 cup of flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon basil and 1 tablespoon oregano. Mix to combine. You will notice that it seems a bit dry. Add a tiny bit of water, no more than a tablespoon, and keep mixing. You will see that it starts to come together and start forming a ball shape. It will be sticky. This is ok as we are going to knead it in some flour.
On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough. I like to knead the dough until it is no longer is sticky. This shouldn't take long, maybe 5 minutes. You definitely don't want to over-knead it. I like to flatten it out with my hands and fold it in half, then in half again, and repeat this process a few times.
Once you've got your nice dough ball formed, put it on the bowl you have prepared with the 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover the bowl with a towel and set it in the warm oven. Be sure the oven is off! Let the bread rise for 1 hour.
After an hour, take the dough out of the oven. You will see that is has risen quite high. Punch the dough down.
Be sure to preheat the oven to 400 degrees after you have removed the dough.
Spread the dough over the 9x13 pan. Dump all of the oil from the bowl onto the bread. Poke indents in the dough with your fingers randomly. The oil will pool in the indents. This is what you want. If you want to decorate the bread at this time, do so. I like to add fresh herbs and coarse sea salt.
Cover dough with plastic wrap very lightly. Let rise for 20 minutes. You can just put it on your stove and the heat from the oven will be enough for the second rise.
Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
Enjoy your yummy focaccia bread with soups, as sandwich bread, alone. The options are endless.

Notes

The nutrition information listed is for comparison purposes only, and may vary base don individual cooking styles and measurements. The nutritional information calculated uses a third-party algorithm. Please consult a health professional for any nutrition information.

Nutrition