Olive and Herb Focaccia

This olive and herb focaccia is a simple homemade bread recipe that you can use as a side or to make delicious sandwiches. This focaccia is soft and chewy with a yummy salty, and crispy top flavoured with olives and fresh herbs. This easy recipe is the perfect way to start making bread at home!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Rising Time 2

Total Time 2 35

Servings servings

Calories 128kcal

Author Sally

Ingredients

1 cup water warmed
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
2 ½ cups plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing
1 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon flakey sea salt
2 teaspoons dried herbs or 2 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs
¼ cup olives sliced or chopped

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm water, yeast and honey and mix to combine. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
Add in flour, olive oil and salt, and slowly start to mix with a dough hook attachment. As the flour begins to incorporate, increase the speed to medium. Once the dough is completely combined, continue to beat on low for 5 minutes to knead it, before turning it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for an additional 5 minutes or until smooth.
Lightly grease the bowl of the mixer with olive oil and add the ball of dough back into the bowl, turning to ensure the dough is completely covered with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down to release the air and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and continue to knead for about a minute.
Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch (20cm x 30cm) tray with olive oil. Roll out the dough roughly into a rectangle slightly smaller than your pan. Place the dough into the tray and press down indentations with your fingers. Cover again and let rise for 45-60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Once risen, the dough should touch the edges of the pan. Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, the olives, and the herbs. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top. Slice and serve while still warm.

Notes

Flour: I've written this recipe to use regular plain flour, also known as all purpose flour as this is what most people have on hand. For a slightly chewier texture though, you can use bread flour.

Herbs: Use any combination you like, but I am using basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley.

Toppings: Use any combination of toppings that you like. Some great alternatives to the olives would be sundried tomatoes or you could top the focaccia with pesto instead.

Vegan Option: This recipe is vegetarian as written but to make it vegan simply use the substitution of sugar instead of honey.

Water: The water must be warm to activate the yeast but not hot. If you can stick your finger in the water and hold it there without burning, that is the temperature you want.

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