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Featuring fresh rosemary, black olives, sea salt, and olive oil, this classic rosemary focaccia recipe works nicely in sandwiches, added to a bread basket, or sliced and served alongside a bowl of soup.
Why Make This Focaccia Recipe?
If you’ve been following this blog or my Instagram account for awhile now, you already know how much I enjoy making homemade bread. A loaf of homemade bread tastes so much fresher and better than the grocery store stuff, plus it’s free from the preservatives and additives often used to extend shelf life. Making your own is cheaper than buying high-quality artisan bread from a fancy bakery. And baking bread is also just really, really fun. Soda bread, cheesy bread, potato bread, everything bagel bread…you name it, I’ll make it. But I think I enjoy making focaccia most of all.
You can bake and serve this focaccia recipe to accompany soups, stews, and salads, use it for sandwiches, or create a vessel for hummus, paté, cheese spreads, or tapenade. But my favorite way to enjoy focaccia is actually pretty simple: alongside some good-quality olives and cubes of cheese, plus a nice glass of red wine.
Topped with black olives, fresh rosemary, and coarse sea salt, this rustic focaccia comes together with minimal effort. (You will need a few hours for the bread to rise, though, so plan your timeline accordingly.) As a bonus, you can tailor the ingredients in this recipe to fit different dietary needs and taste preferences. Love olives? Add lots of ’em! Hate olives? Try dotting your dough with capers, roasted red peppers, or pickled vegetables instead.
What Is Focaccia?
Focaccia is a traditional Italian bread known for its olive oil-infused flavor and distinctive dimpled appearance. It’s a versatile bread that works equally well as a snack, appetizer, or meal accompaniment.
Focaccia dough includes a mixture of flour, water, yeast, and salt, plus generous amounts of olive oil for its characteristic moisture and flavor. After proving, the dough is drizzled with additional olive oil, then decorated with toppings such as herbs, garlic, tomatoes, cheese, vegetables, or olives, baked until golden brown, then doused in even more oil before serving. The result? A crispy, salty crust, and a tender, olive-oil infused interior. I challenge you not to eat the entire loaf in one sitting.
Ingredients for Making Rosemary Focaccia
Although I love experimenting with less traditional focaccia recipes, for this one I’ve kept the toppings fairly simple—just whole black olives (make sure they’re the pitted kind), small pieces of fresh rosemary, and a generous sprinkling of sea salt.
In addition, you’ll want to gather a few breadmaking staples: bread flour, olive oil (for making the dough, plus more for drizzling—be sure to choose a good-tasting oil!), kosher salt, and yeast. I’ve used instant yeast because it’s faster, but feel free to substitute active dry. Just remember to prove the yeast in warm water before mixing it with the other ingredints.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Focaccia is best enjoyed on the day it is made. Tightly wrap leftovers in foil or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to two days. I do not suggest freezing focaccia.
Other bread recipes you might enjoy:
Soda Bread with Cheddar and Herbs
Everything Bagel Bread
Cheese and Olive Bread
Blue Cheese Bread
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Rosemary Focaccia Recipe
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 10-inch round loaf 1x
Description
A classic rosemary focaccia recipe with black olives, sea salt, and olive oil.
Ingredients
Focaccia dough:
290 grams bread flour (2 1/4 cups)
150 milliliters lukewarm water (2/3 cup)
50 milliliters olive oil (1/4 cup), plus more for drizzling
7 grams kosher salt (2 teaspoons)
6 grams instant yeast (2 teaspoons)
Topping:
130 milliliters olive oil (2/3 cup), divided
15–20 whole black olives, pitted
2 5-inch sprigs fresh rosemary, broken into small pieces
Coarse or flaked sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
In a large round bowl, combine flour, lukewarm water, olive oil, salt, and yeast. Use a bench scraper to bring the ingredients together until a soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead by hand until soft and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.
Form dough into a ball and place in a well-oiled bowl, drizzling the top with even more oil.
Allow bowl to stand in a warm place, covered, for about 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until dough doubles in size.
Line a half-sheet rimmed baking tray with parchment.
Punch dough down.
Place on prepared tray and press into an 8-9-inch round circle. Focaccia is supposed to be rustic, so don’t worry about being perfectly precise.
Cover the tray with plastic wrap, and place a towel on top. Allow dough to rise for 1 hour, or until puffy and doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 400° F / 205° C.
Peel away the plastic wrap.
With a pastry brush, brush dough with a generous amount of oil.
Add the olives, covering most of the surface.
Use your fingers to push the olives down, creating deep dimples in the dough.
Drizzle about half of the remaining oil on top of the bread.
Spritz lightly with water, then add the rosemary sprigs and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until top and bottom are.golden brown.
Remove bread from the oven and pour remaining oil over the top.
Slice with a serrated knife. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Store leftover focaccia in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day. Focaccia can also be wrapped in foil and frozen, then thawed at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Proofing Time: 3 hours, divided
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
