This focaccia recipe is topped with rosemary and sea salt for extra flavour and takes just 25 mins in the oven.
It's an easy recipe to follow but the dough comes out fairly wet so we use a free-standing mixer instead of kneading the dough by hand (see tip below).
We recommend eating focaccia bread warm or at room temperature and eating on the day of baking or freezing it.
Plus rising and cooling
Serving notes: makes 1 loaf/serves 10
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Yields:
1
Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
25 mins
Total Time:
40 mins
Cal/Serv:
278
Ingredients
500 g (1lb 2oz) strong white flour, plus extra to dust
7 g sachet fast-action dried yeast
100 ml (3 1/2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to grease
For the dusting/topping
3 Tbsp. quick-cook polenta, optional
25 ml (1 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt flakes
2 rosemary sprigs, leaves picked
Directions
Step 1
Put flour into bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook (see GH Tip). Mix in yeast and 2tsp fine salt. Add oil and 300ml (1/2 pint) lukewarm water and mix on slow-medium speed for 5min or until dough is elastic and soft (it will be fairly sticky – add a little more flour if too sticky). Cover bowl with greased clingfilm and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size – about 11/2hr.
Step 2
Dust a large baking tray with polenta, if using, or grease with oil. Scrape dough on to prepared baking tray. Using fingers, press into a rough 20.5 x 30.5cm (8 x 12in) rectangle. Cover with greased clingfilm (oil-side down) and leave in a warm place to prove for 30min until soft and pillowy.
Step 3
Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7. In a small bowl, whisk together topping oil with 25ml (1fl oz) water until emulsified. With floured fingers, poke vertical dimples into dough, down to tray. Pour over oil mixture and scatter over salt flakes and rosemary.
Step 4
Bake in oven for 25min or until rich golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool a little. Eat warm or at room temperature.
GH Tip
This is a wet dough, so a freestanding mixer is ideal. But you can do step 1 by hand, adding a little more flour if dough is too sticky to knead. Knead for 10min.
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
