Crispy pizza, fragrant pasta and lasagna or heavenly tiramisu – Italian cuisine has many delicious dishes and always offers a real treat for the palate. We want to take another culinary trip to Italy and introduce you to another famous classic – the perfect focaccia recipe! Beautifully soft, wonderfully crunchy, full of flavor and extremely versatile – Italian flatbreads are irresistibly sweet and taste great as a starter or as a stand-alone meal. Sweet bread is very popular in this country now, and it is very easy and quick to prepare. Classic with tomatoes, without yeast, filled or sweet focaccia with strawberries for dessert – make sure there are some variations on the table and try our focaccia recipes today!
Focaccia recipe original Italian style
The word focaccia comes from the Latin expression “panis focacius”, which literally means “a plate baked under the ashes of a fire”. The soft flatbread dates back to ancient Rome and was invented in the province of Liguria. Depending on the region, there are now hundreds of variations that have their own regional elements. With onions, anchovies, olives or tomatoes – the list is truly endless. First, of course, we will show you the classic focaccia recipe, which tastes great, especially in combination with the crème aubergine dip. As we know from other pastries, the flatbread consists of yeast dough. But to make the bread crispy on the outside and incredibly soft, a lot of olive oil is used. The classic recipe for Focaccia Genovese is very simple.
Resources:
- 480 grams of hard bread flour
- 360 ml of hot water
- 1/2 cup fresh yeast or alternatively 1 tsp dry yeast
- 70 ml of olive oil
- 1 tbsp refined sea salt
- 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
preparation
- Mix the bread flour and sea salt in the bowl and pour the yeast over it.
- Add the water and half the olive oil and knead with the hook of the hand mixer for about 5 minutes to make a smooth dough.
- Cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes until the dough doubles in size.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
- On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough by hand and roll into a 2-3 cm thick flatbread.
- Place the dough on a baking sheet and cover it for another 20 minutes.
- Now carefully press small indentations into the focaccia with your fingers and then pour the remaining olive oil.
- Cover with a little more sea salt and rosemary leaves and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, cut and enjoy – and the classic Italian focaccia recipe is easy!
- If you don’t have fresh yeast handy, you can use dry yeast to make this focaccia recipe.
Flash recipe for focaccia without yeast
Ready in 30 minutes and just as sweet and savory – this unleavened focaccia recipe is perfect when you’re looking for something quick.
Resources:
- 280 grams of hard bread flour
- 45 ml of olive oil
- Water 120 ml
- 120 ml of whole milk
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme or chives
- 1 tbsp refined sea salt
preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease a baking sheet generously with olive oil.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices and sea salt.
- Add water, milk and half the olive oil and mix well.
- Knead the dough well with your hands on a floured work surface. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour.
- Place the dough on the baking sheet and make small indentations with your fingers.
- Drizzle over the remaining olive oil and top with some fresh herbs if desired.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and your yeast-free focaccia recipe is ready.
Italian flat bread with tomatoes and olives
But now it will be delicious! Full of flavor and very tasty, this tomato and olive focaccia is perfect for a light meal. Of course, you can experiment with the recipe and add other ingredients to your heart’s content. How to Spread the Bread with Homemade Zucchini Pesto Or make focaccia with tomatoes and feta cheese? The sky is the limit!
Resources:
- 500 grams of wheat flour type 550
- 25 grams of fresh yeast or alternatively 1 package of dry yeast
- 300 ml of hot water
- 40 ml of olive oil and another 40 ml for the tomato sauce
- 250 grams of cherry tomatoes
- 50 grams of olives, chopped and finely chopped
- A quintal of sugar
- 1 tbsp refined sea salt
- 1 tbsp Italian herbs
preparation:
- Mix the yeast and sugar with the water in a bowl and mix until you get a homogeneous mixture.
- Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a large well in the center.
- Add the yeast mixture, mix well and cover for 10-15 minutes.
- Add 40 ml of olive oil and herbs to the bowl and stir.
- Knead the dough well with the dough hook for 8-10 minutes and let it rise covered in a warm place for another 2 hours.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roll the dough onto it. Let’s rise again for 0 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Use your fingers to make small indentations in the dough and cover with tomatoes, olives and olive oil.
- Let rise for another 10 minutes and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- Enjoy focaccia with tomatoes and olives with a glass of white wine.
Stuffed flat bread with cheese and olives
What’s the best way to make any focaccia recipe even better? Filled with cheese, of course!
Resources:
- 450 grams of hard bread flour
- 300 ml of hot water
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- 50 ml of olive oil and a little more to drizzle
- 250 grams of frozen spinach, thawed
- 250 grams of fresh mozzarella, chopped
- 40 grams of olives, chopped and finely chopped
- Fresh thyme, finely chopped
- Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
preparation:
- Mix the flour and dry yeast in a large bowl and make a dough in the center.
- Add olive oil and water and mix with a wooden spoon.
- Place the mixture on a floured surface and knead vigorously with your hands for 10 minutes.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, squeeze the spinach and mix it with the mozzarella, olives and thyme.
- Grease the baking sheet with olive oil and preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Knead the dough and divide it into two parts.
- Spread the spinach mixture over the dough and place the other slice on top.
- Press the edges well and brush with olive oil.
- Bake the stuffed focaccia for 30 minutes, let cool slightly and enjoy!
Focaccia recipe with strawberries and basil
Do you also like sweet and savory combinations? Then we have the perfect focaccia recipe for you! Caramelized onions, fragrant strawberries and basil – a real dream!
Resources:
- 600 grams of wheat flour
- 420 ml of hot water
- 1 tbsp dry yeast
- 20 grams of honey
- 180 ml of olive oil
- 20 grams of butter
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 200 grams of strawberries, cut into small pieces
- 50 grams of fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
preparation:
- Mix water, honey and dry yeast in a bowl and leave it for 15 minutes.
- Mix the wheat flour, salt and half of the olive oil in the bowl and make a well in the middle.
- Knead with the dough hook of the hand mixer for 6-7 minutes and add a little more flour if necessary.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Grease a baking sheet with the remaining olive oil and place the dough on it.
- Turn once and make small indentations with your fingers to coat both sides of the dough with oil.
- Cover and leave for another 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sauté the onion for 10 minutes.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and caraway for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and sprinkle the focaccia with onions and strawberries.
- Sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt and bake for 20 minutes.
- Garnish strawberry focaccia with basil and enjoy!
