Made from scratch focaccia bread recipe in under one hour

A rustic, richly flavored bread in one hour from start to finish.

Photo bymonkeybusiness/Depositphotos.com

The other day my daughter was craving homemade focaccia bread. I have a few recipes I use, but they all require long rise times. It was already close to dinner time, and I didn't want to spend hours on a recipe, but focaccia bread did sound tasty.

So I headed to the internet and searched "quick focaccia recipes" and found a gem of a recipe from the UK food blog, Family Friends Food.

The recipe claimed to give you soft, fluffy focaccia bread from start to finish in one hour. And after trying it myself, I can tell you that it's true.

Within one hour I had a lovely pan of focaccia bread, soft on the inside and crunchy on the out to serve with dinner.

Quick Foccacia Bread Recipe

You can find the original recipe here. I've converted it to US measurements (this is a UK food blog) below.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of bread flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (or one packet)
• 1/2 cup of warm water
• 7 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping Ideas

• kosher salt
• fresh or dried rosemary
• dried oregano
• cracked black pepper

Photo byurban_light/Depositphotos.com

Directions

1. Add flour, salt, sugar, instant yeast, and 3 tablespoons olive oil to a mixing bowl. (Note: you can use active dry yeast if you proof it first. See instructions below.)
2. You can either mix with a spoon and then knead for 5 to 10 minutes by hand, or use the dough hook on your stand mixer. Knead the dough or mix with the dough hook until you have a smooth ball.
3. At this point, you may need to add more flour if your dough is too wet. (I needed to add a 1/2 cup of flour to get a smooth ball to form.) Add 1/4 cup of flour at a time.
4. Lightly oil the ball of dough, add it to a bowl, and cover it with a clean hand towel or plastic wrap. Place in a very warm place for 5 minutes.
5. Grease a 9 x 13 pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
6. Turn out your dough, knead it briefly, and shape it into the baking pan. Using your hands pat it into a rectangle roughly the shape of your pan.
7. Transfer the dough to the pan and push the dough with your fingers to reach the edges of the pan. Try to keep the thickness even throughout.
8. Cover the pan and return to the warm spot for another 15 minutes
9. Now, using your fingers, poke holes in the dough. Brush another 2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil over the top.
10. Sprinkle with your choice of toppings. (I used kosher salt, cracked pepper, dried rosemary, and dried oregano.)
11. Put your pan in a cold oven (cold is important here - do not preheat the oven) and turn the heat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
12. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
13. Cool slightly before cutting and serving.

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How to proof active dry yeast

I did not have instant yeast, but this recipe still worked. If you use active dry instead of instant, you will need to proof the yeast before adding it to the flour. Add the yeast to the warm water with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy. Then add to flour and proceed with the recipe.

Can you use all-purpose flour only?

If you don't have bread flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour. However, bread flour has more protein. This helps baked goods hold their structure. Bread flour gives the focaccia bread a bit more rise and more of a chewy texture, so I'd recommend using it if you have it.

Why a cold oven?

The recipe blogger explains that your dough will rise as the oven warms up. Amazingly, this method turns out a perfectly risen, chewy, and soft focaccia bread.

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