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Rosemary Focaccia Bread

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This delicious Rosemary Focaccia Bread recipe is easy to make, and topped with fresh rosemary, olive oil and flaky sea salt.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread Recipe

Meet my all-time favorite focaccia bread recipe. ♡

It was actually one of the very first bread recipes that I learned to make years ago, and still continues to be a fave because it is so simple to make. And most importantly, it’s just so dang good.

It’s perfectly soft and fluffy and satisfyingly chewy. It’s sprinkled with lots of fresh rosemary and crunchy flaky sea salt, and drizzled with extra olive oil just before serving, which soaks perfectly into all of those little classic holes that you have poked in the bread. It’s easy to make by hand, or even easier to make with the help of a stand mixer. It also happens to be naturally vegan, and can be shaped into a free-form round or pressed into a rectangular baking dish. And best of all, it is just the ultimate cozy carbohydrate comfort food. I know you’re going to love it.

Also, if you happen to be new to working with yeast in bread, please don’t let that deter you from making focaccia! This recipe is a great place to begin when working with yeast, and I will walk you through each step of the process so that all of your questions are answered. You’ve got this.

Let’s make some rosemary focaccia!

Fresh Rosemary for Focaccia Bread

Rosemary Focaccia Bread Ingredients:

To make this rosemary focaccia bread recipe (pronounced “foh-kah-chah”, by the way), you will need:

  • Warm water: Since we are working with active dry yeast in this recipe, it’s important that we use warm water to dissolve it. I highly recommend using a cooking thermometer to double-check the temperature of the water if possible. (It should be around 110°F.)
  • Sugar or honey: Whichever you have on hand, to give the bread a hint of sweetness and help to activate the yeast.
  • Active dry yeast: You will need one packet (or 2.25 teaspoons) to make this focaccia bread.
  • Flour: Basic all-purpose flour will be great!
  • Olive oil: Some of which we will mix into the actual bread dough, plus extra for drizzling on top once the focaccia has baked.
  • Flaky sea salt: Some of which we will mix into the actual bread dough, plus extra for sprinkling on top of the dough before baking. If you don’t have flaky sea salt on hand, you can use fine sea salt, but be sure to reduce the amount by half so that the bread isn’t too salty.
  • Fresh rosemary: To sprinkle on top of the dough and add that delicious earthy rosemary flavor. (Feel free to finely chop the fresh rosemary if you would like smaller rosemary sprinkles.)

Easy Focaccia Bread Dough

How To Make Focaccia Bread:

Here are the basic steps to make this rosemary focaccia bread recipe (full instructions included in the recipe below, as always):

  1. Proof the yeast. In the warm water and sugar. (I highly recommend using a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water, so that it is not too hot or too cold.)
  2. Knead the dough*. Gradually add in the flour, olive oil and salt. Then knead for 5 minutes using the dough attachment or a stand mixer, or knead the dough by hand.
  3. First dough rise. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a greased mixing bowl, and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough rest in a warm location for 45-60 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
  4. Second dough rise.  Shape the dough into a large circle or rectangle until that the dough is about 1/2-inch thick*. Cover and let the dough continue to rise for another 20 minutes.
  5. Prepare the dough. Heat oven to 400°F. Transfer the dough to a large parchment-covered baking sheet (or press it into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish). Use your fingers to poke deep dents — like seriously, poke all the way down until you touch the baking sheet — all over the surface of the dough. Then drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil evenly all over the top of the dough, and sprinkle evenly with the fresh rosemary needles and sea salt.
  6. Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden and cooked through.
  7. Serve. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired. Slice, and serve warm.

*If you do not have a stand mixer, no prob! Just complete step 1 in a large mixing bowl. Gradually stir in the flour, olive oil and salt until a shaggy dough begins to form. Then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes until smooth, adding extra flour if the dough feels too sticky, and continue on with the recipe as directed.

How To Make Focaccia Bread with Rosemary

Possible Recipe Variations:

Want to customize this recipe? Feel free to…

  • Add garlic. Finely mince and mix a large clove of fresh garlic into the dough to give it some extra garlicky flavor.
  • Add Parmesan. This focaccia would also be delicious with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top!
  • Use different fresh herbs. In place of (or in addition to) the fresh rosemary, feel free to use fresh tarragon or sage.
  • Use dried herbs. If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand, you are welcome to use dried herbs instead (such as dried rosemary or Italian seasoning). If you use dried herbs, I recommend kneading them into the dough itself rather than sprinkling them on top so that they do not burn in the oven.

Focaccia Recipe

More Favorite Bread Recipes:

Interested in doing some more bread-baking? Here are a few of my favorite easy bread recipes on the blog:

Easy Focaccia Bread Recipe

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Rosemary Focaccia Bread Recipe

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 408 reviews
  • Prep Time: 75 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 95 minutes
  • Yield: 8 -12 servings 1x

Description

This Rosemary Focaccia Bread recipe is ultra-comforting and delicious, and kicked up a notch with the addition of lots of fresh rosemary and flaked sea salt.  See optional instructions below for how to mix the dough by hand if you do not have a stand mixer.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 1/3 cup warm water (about 110°F)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar or honey
  • 1 (0.25 ounce) package active-dry yeast
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling*
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Instructions

  1. Proof the yeast. Add warm water (about 110°F, which you can measure with a thermometer if you want to be sure it’s the right temp) and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough attachment, and stir to combine.  Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water.  Give the yeast a quick stir to mix it in with the water.  Then let it sit for 5-10 minute until the yeast is foamy.
  2. Knead the dough.  (See alterate instructions below to knead by hand.) Set the mixer to low speed, and add gradually flour, olive oil and salt.  Increase speed to medium-low, and continue mixing the dough for 5 minutes.  (If the dough is too sticky and isn’t pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add in an extra 1/4 cup flour while it is mixing.)
  3. First dough rise. Remove dough from the mixing bowl, and use your hands to shape it into a ball.  Grease the mixing bowl (or a separate bowl) with olive oil or cooking spray, then place the dough ball back in the bowl and cover it with a damp towel.  Place in a warm location (I set mine by a sunny window) and let the dough rise for 45-60 minutes, or until it has nearly doubled in size.
  4. Second dough rise.  Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and roll it out into a large circle or rectangle until that the dough is about 1/2-inch thick*.  Cover the dough again with the damp towel, and let the dough continue to rise for another 20 minutes.
  5. Prepare the dough. Preheat oven to 400°F. Transfer the dough to a large parchment-covered baking sheet (or press it into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish).  Use your fingers to poke deep dents (seriously, poke all the way down to the baking sheet!) all over the surface of the dough.  Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil evenly all over the top of the dough, and sprinkle evenly with the fresh rosemary needles and sea salt.
  6. Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden and cooked through.
  7. Serve. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired. Slice, and serve warm.

Notes

Flaky vs. fine sea salt: If you do not have flaky sea salt on hand, no worries, you can definitely sub in fine sea salt.  Just be sure to use about half the amount of salt (if using fine sea salt) so that the bread is not too salty.

To knead the dough by hand: Complete step 1 in a large mixing bowl.  Gradually stir in the flour, olive oil and salt until a shaggy dough begins to form.  Then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes until smooth, adding extra flour if the dough feels too sticky.  Continue on with the recipe as directed.

Bread thickness: I like my focaccia to be a bit on the thicker side.  But if you prefer yours thinner, just roll it out a little more.  It will rise up considerably while baking.

 

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733 comments on “Rosemary Focaccia Bread”

  1. LOVED this recipe! Definitely recommend making 2 because it won’t last long! I needed a little bit more flour but it turned out perfectly (like literally every Gimme Some Oven recipe I’ve ever used).






    • I just tried this recipe & it was my first time making bread. It was light & fluffy and absolutely perfect! It just came out of the oven and it’s almost gone already.






  2. I don’t k ow why there’s a bunch of comments about too sticky or not rising…. Let me tell you…the truth… this was the best bread recipe I’ve ever made!!!!! Perfect…not sticky…perfect rise! Maybe a touch of salt could be added to the flour…buuuut adding the flaked salt befor baking is enough! Yes add evoo or truffle oil 1-2 tablespoons before baking. Soft amd perfect inside…nice crust outside. Thank you!!!!






  3. This is a terrific recipe! It was my first time making focaccia bread, and I didn’t have any rosemary on hand so I used oregano, and it was scrumptious! Next time though, I’m definitely using rosemary 🤤🤤
    Thank you for sharing!






  4. Easy and delicious recipe. It is now one of our favorites. I love the fact that I am not using any milk products and just olive oil.






  5. This is the ONLY focaccia recipe that I will use. I jazz it up sometimes with small cubes of Asiago, or chunks of roasted garlic, or whatever suits the mood. It always turns out perfectly. (I’m baking it today in a toaster oven because my oven died three days before Thanksgiving and I can’t get a new one till the end of January!)






  6. Happy Holidays! I’ve never made bread before and this was my first time. I’m not much of a kitchen person due to mental illness, but I’ve always wanted to make bread and this looked delicious! It turned out perfect! My parents both loved it and I’m quite proud of myself! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!






  7. My go to recipe all the time. Also makes a great pizza!!!






  8. Why would u roll out focaccia after the first prove? U want to keep it irregularly airy. Rolling out damages the structure…

    • Exactly! I have made this recipe 3 times now. It’s delicious but it’s not a focaccia. Thank you for pointing out about rolling out the dough. I’m also wondering if the structure is wrong because ours a quick prove. When finished it never has the air pockets of a true focaccia. More bready also.

    • I’ve made this recipe a few times and I never use a rolling pin. I use my palms to gently “roll” it out and it always comes out very airy and fluffy.






  9. Excellent bread. Easy to make and wonderful taste.

  10. This is hands down the best recipe for Focaccia I’ve ever done! It was fluffy, golden and tasty! Yum!!! Please, post more recipes like this. 10/10 💫






  11. I would really like to make this bread, but what I have on hand is instant yeast. How will this affect the process?

    • I made this recipe with instant yeast instead of active dry and it’s just 75% of the amount of active dry yeast-so in this instant one pack of active dry yeast is 2.25 teaspoons, and multiplied by 0.75 comes out to around 1.75 (1 3/4) teaspoons instant yeast. You can skip the step of adding it to the water first and just mix the instant yeast right in with the flour and then add the water and oil gradually-mine turned out great this way! You can always substitute instant yeast if you 75% of how much active yeast is called for. Hope this helps!






  12. I am a beginning bread maker and this by far was my favorite early recipe. I have ended up omitting the rosemary due to it being difficult to find fresh rosemary in this area, but dried rosemary also works well for us. Yummy! Thank you






  13. FANTASTIC recipe! So easy. So pillow-y soft. So pretty. SO DELICIOUS!

    We had it with your pulled pork (instant pot) and lime cilantro slaw.

    My 16 year old actually made it.






  14. Hi can I use instant dry yeast? If yes, is the measurement the same?

    Also, is it ok to use dry Rosemary?

    And lastly, can I use wholewheat flour?

  15. Can I use a pizza stone?

  16. I love your recipes so good and well to go

  17. This was amazing! I had a Tuscan infused EVOO so I used that and added some garlic powder. Yum!






  18. Love this recipe. 2nd time making it. The first time I didn’t roll it out enough, but still delicious. This time I incorporated Hawaiian Black Sea salt.






  19. Those is my undefeated go-to recipe for focaccia. I’ve done this so many times I can nearly do it from memory. Always turns out great. Always a hit for parties or even just a nice date night in. I use leftovers from sandwiches or even just ask a snack. 10/10 will keep baking this forever.






  20. Easy to make for a first time baker. Was absolutely delicious.






  21. Can I make it and then let it sit all day before baking? I need to prepare it before noon, but want to bake it around 8pm

    • It will be overproofed if you let it sit that long using a whole packet of yeast

    • You can prepare it ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge until you are ready. Just pull it out about an hour before to come to room temp and rise.
      before baking.

  22. Hi- I made this focaccia bread recipe yesterday. The second rise for the bread didn’t rise. Also cooking the bread didn’t rise much either. The bread is not fluffy or airy and it looked a bit thin. Didn’t know if you could possibly figure out what i did wrong.

  23. Im about to embark on this baking journey…..how much water do I proof the yeast I? Im assuming a cup of 110 degrees water…..but it doesn’t say?

  24. Next door neighbour presented me with 1/4 of this bread. Took it to a dinner party, reheated it and cut it into 1 inch bite-sized pieces and served it with olive oil and balsamic dip. Placed it among other appy dishes. It was gone in less than 2 minutes. Now I have to make my own. Thanks for recipe and good neighbours

  25. Easy, super clear recipe to follow – truly great, super tastey first-time result. Thanks very much!

  26. Every time amazing result! Instead of rosemary I’m using olives






  27. Wonderful recipe! Very easy and very accurate. This made A LOT of bread – enough to freeze half for our small family of 3 large eaters.






  28. Why did you leave out how much flour?

  29. my foccacia is tough >.< and hard.

    my only thought is that maybe I kneaded too much??? But I'm certain that I did not.

  30. First time making focaccia and it was perfect. I added dry Italian mixed spices to the dough as I don’t love rosemary sprigs. Put salt flakes and grated Asiago on top. Amazing. Next time I would try a veggie design just for fun, but this is a great recipe.






  31. So easy to do and packed with flavour. Made it to alongside homemade fire roasted tomato soup. Comfort food at its best






  32. Isn’t 400F higher than olive oil’s smoke point?

  33. First time making it and it was PERFECT!






  34. I tried this recipe and it’s now a staple on me house. It’s so versatile, you can add pretty much anything to it and it’s always so good.






  35. I’ve made this twice. It’s DELICIOUS. I use rosemary olive oil rather than plain olive oil to add extra rosemary flavour to the bread. And it’s so easy! I don’t think I’ll go back to buying bread anytime soon.






  36. This is delicious but it is not a traditional focaccia. I’ve made some he recipe 3 times now. He error is not me but the recipe. It’s most likely because it is a quick rise and not overnight.

    The texture is wrong.. it is more breadth than a traditional focaccia. And it does not have the looseness or holes tagt a real focaccia has.

    I’ll make again though for the ease. Now searching for a better, true recipe for when I have time for longer proving.






  37. This recipe was delicious. I made it for the first time for dinner tonight. I made it with a few minor changes. I used garlic virgin olive oil in the recipe mix, as well as the bowl to let the dough rise. I baked it in a cast iron skillet oiled with the garlic olive oil. I also extended the rising times by about 10 to 15 minutes. It had a nice, but subtle garlic flavor, and the rosemary and flakey seasalt and garlic olive oil on top was delicious. The texture was perfect…Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

  38. Only focaccia recipe I use. I’ve made it countless times and my family expects it anytime we’re having Italian dishes or soup. In my experience, the temperature is very important to the amount of rise. When it’s cooler, it hardly rises, yet still tastes delicious.

  39. This recipe is awesome. Tastes wonderful






  40. My favourite homemade bread recipe. It’s so quick and easy! Always delicious too






  41. I’ve made this so many times, and it’s ALWAYS a hit – minimal work with the most impressive appearance, texture and taste. Today I turned this dough into a pizza, with sauteed day old greens & chopped antipasto meat leftovers, asiago and muenster. It smells heavenly, as I sit and wait for it to be done cooking. Thanks for the versatile recipe!

  42. Forgot to rate in my last comment.






  43. I’ve made this bread several times. This is ALWAYS my go-to recipe. Thank you for sharing an excellent one 😁






  44. Third time to make this focaccia! I chopped a sweet pepper and added to dough on top with Rosemary! Yum!

  45. Just made this and ate some fresh out of the oven. Incredible! One of the best things I’ve made in a long time. The flavor and texture is so good! I made the dough in my bread machine and it was very easy.






  46. Just made this recipe and I love it – the texture is perfect. I needed 4 cups flour instead of 3.5 and it is perfect.I didn’t have flaky salt so I used 1 tsp of sea salt and it worked out great. Made a dipping oil with olive oil, basil, thyme and rosemary chopped up from the garden. Will definitely be making this again!






  47. Fantastic Recipe. I followed end to end and got a superb focaccia bread. Thank you for sharing this detailed recipe. My family and friends loved the bread.

  48. Made this today for the family. Got rave reviews 🙂
    Will definitely make this again.






  49. OMG so good. I’ve made focaccia many times but my recipe requires an overnight fridge rest. I wanted it NOW and found yours. So delicious. I put Kalamata olives and Zaatar on half, garlic butter with crushed red pepper and fresh basil on the other half after baking. Please God don’t let me eat the entire thing!