Homemade Focaccia (Bread Machine)

Homemade Focaccia is a pillowy soft Italian bread baked flat in a tray and flavoured with olive oil, rosemary, and salt. It’s easy to make the dough in your electric bread maker and focaccia is a really versatile bread, perfect to serve as an appetiser with good olive oil or to serve with soups or stews.

Focaccia with bowl of oil

Why should I make Foaccia in a bread machine?

Focaccia is not difficult to make. However, making bread by hand can be time-consuming and also quite physical. If that’s what you like then go ahead and make the recipe by hand. But I like to use my bread machine to do the hard work of kneading the dough. It also means I can get on with some other jobs while the bread machine does it’s work. .

baked focaccia

What is Focaccia?

The word Focaccia is Italian for ‘hearth’ and it is said that the little dimples in the bread helped the bread to bake on the hearth. Italy is a country that has many different types of bread. There are said to be over 350 different regional variations.

There are different variations of Focaccia too, my bread is simply topped with olive oil, salt, and rosemary, but you can also add cheese, tomatoes, or olives. If you have a sweet tooth you can make a Focaccia dolce or sweet bread and add honey, fruit, or sugar.

What do I need to make Focaccia?

You will need:

  • Strong white bread flour
  • Fast actionyeast
  • Salt
  • Caster sugar
  • Water
  • White wine
  • Olive Oil
  • Rosemary 
  • Sea salt flakes
flour falling out of bag

What kind of flour should I use to make Focaccia?

Use strong white bread flour. This type of flour is high in gluten which creates the structure of the bread. In the US use flour that is labelled ‘bread flour’ although it is also possible to make bread with All Purpose flour.

olive oil in bowl

What kind of oil should I use?

Use the best olive oil you can afford. It really does make a difference to the flavour of the bread, especially for the oil you drizzle over the baked bread.

There are many different grades of olive oil and not all Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the same. It’s well worth reading up a little about how to choose the right olive oil for your purpose and how to store it to maintain its quality. I am not an expert in this area so I suggest that you check out a specialist site.

Sea salt on spoon

Why use Sea Salt flakes?

Sea Salt comes in different forms. It can be in the form of crystals which are small hard pieces of salt that are good to use in cooking or in a salt grinder. Sea Salt Flakes are great for finishing dishes because they dissolve quickly in your mouth and give just a hint of saltiness.

What can I substitute for the white wine?

If you don’t drink alcohol or simply don’t have any wine available you can substitute the equivalent amount of water. The wine does add a little bit of fruity flavour to the focaccia but it will still make a very delicious bread without the wine.

Can I make the focaccia gluten-free ?

This recipe is for a standard focaccia dough and does contain gluten. You can find a range of gluten-free bread recipes on the Gluten-Free Alchemist website that you can adapt to make something close to this recipe.

Is Focaccia sutiable for vegetarians?

There are no animal products included in Focaccia, so it is suitable for vegetarians.

freezer with boxes

Can I freeze Focaccia?

Yes, the bread freezes really well. Freeze the focaccia before you add the final drizzle of olive oil. Open freeze the whole focaccia or cut it into pieces and freeze them on a tray. Store the frozen focaccia in a freezer-proof container or bag. You can keep the frozen bread without any deterioration for up to 3 months.

Thaw the whole focaccia by placing back into the roasting tin and covering it with a tea towel for about an hour. Then refresh the bread in the oven for 5-10 minutes. Drizzle over the extra olive oil. If you have cut the focaccia into pieces you can place them directly onto a baking tray and heat for 10 minutes then drizzle with oil.

Focaccia with bowl of oil

How do I serve Focaccia?

There are lots of different ways to serve focaccia. Here are some you might like to try:

  • Serve as an appetiser cut into pieces with a bowl of good extra virgin olive oil to dip the bread into.
  • Cut into large squares and split crossways through the middle. Fill with your favourite sandwich fillings.
  • Focaccia is great to serve with soup and also with any dish that has a lot of sauce. Use the bread to soak up the sauce.

More Bread Recipes

Easy Sourdough Bread made in Breadmaker

Easy Sourdough Bread in the bread machine is a simple solution for busy people. Make a really delicious sourdough style loaf without the work involved in looking after a sourdough starter.

Irish Soda Bread baked in the Optimum HealthyFry

Wholemeal Irish Soda Bread is a very quick and easy bread that doesn’t use yeast at all. It’s really tasty and you can even bake it in your Airfryer!

No-Knead Bread Recipe

No-Knead Bread is a very simple recipe that makes a really delicious crusty loaf of bread. Although it takes a bit of time to make, most of that does not involve you. Just leave the dough to do its magic then bake!

Focaccia in the Bread Machine dough in tray
baked focaccia

Focaccia (Bread Machine)

Janice Pattie
A delicious soft Italian bread flavoured with olive oil, rosemary and salt.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Dough programme and resting time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Appetizer, Baking, bread
Cuisine Italian, Mediterranean
Servings 10 servings
Calories 302 kcal

Equipment

  • read machine
  • roasting tin
  • weighing scales
  • Measuring spoons

Ingredients

  • 500 grams strong white flour
  • 2 teaspoon fast action dried yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • 175 millilitres water
  • 75 millilitres white wine
  • 75 millilitres olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon rosemary finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil for drizzling
  • sea salt flakes for scattering

Instructions
 

  • 500 grams strong white flour, 2 teaspoon fast action dried yeast, 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon caster sugar, 175 millilitres water, 75 millilitres white wine, 75 millilitres olive oil
    Put the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water, wine and olive oil nto your bread maker and set for dough.
    blank
  • When the dough programme finishes, roll or pull the dough out.
    Bread dough on baking parchment
  • Oil a baking sheet or roasting tin and fill with the dough.
  • Cover with a tea towel and put in a warm place to rise for about an hour to an hour and a half.
  • 2 tablespoon rosemary, sea salt flakes for scattering
    Us your fingertips to gently press into the surface of the dough, brush with a little olive oil and scatter over the rosemary and sea salt.
    focaccia in roasting tin
  • Heat the oven to 200C and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
    baked focaccia
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil for drizzling
    Drizzle with the remaining olive oil.

Nutrition

Calories: 302kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 6gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gSodium: 353mgPotassium: 86mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 13IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 3mg
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14 Comments

  1. Fiona – yes it is quite expensive, it worked best with the fish. I would go back to olive for the bread.

    Helen – yeah pretty cool name! Biscuits for cheese sound good, any recipe suggestions?

  2. woah!… there's a lot going on here… LOVE the focaccia… LOVE the pretty olive oil bottles too and as for the salmon, bloody gorgeous!… what a wonderful meal… I MUST make a focaccia… always wanted to but never have… nice work!

  3. Love focaccia so much have to limit making it or eat way too much. Interested in the oils which do sound good but fear they may struggle to sell well due to their price tag. Delicious salmon too I should say!!

  4. Hello! Just wanted to let you know you are featured over at BritMums this month in the May Foodie Round-up

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Recipe Rating




5 from 1 vote