To be real, I am not the most experienced with making bread and am still quite new to it. I have cheated many times by using a bread machine for the past four years, but have not attempted to bake bread from scratch until recently. The only exception is this Focaccia Bread that I have been making for a while now.

I learnt this recipe from an old friend, back when I lived in Montreal. She was a feisty Italian who taught me so much about food, but also how to enjoy food beyond just eating for the sake of eating. We shared some pretty amazing times in the kitchen and thanks to her, my love for cooking and spending time in the kitchen developed. We were fresh out of University, living on our own in the ‘big city’ of Montreal and would spend our Friday nights cooking up a storm. We explored wines and tried new recipes, all while bringing friends together over a home-cooked meal.

The evening would always end up with all of us dancing around the living room to our song of the moment and laughing about pretty much anything until our stomachs hurt. Until this day, I still love doing that, minus the dancing. Which has me thinking I need to make that happen at my next dinner party.

This Focaccia bread is so easy and inexpensive to make, you will not want store-bought Focaccia again. The key is all in the ingredients. Make sure you are using a good quality olive oil, fresh rosemary and flaked sea salt.


I’ve made this bread a few times in the past months and I am obsessed. It pairs perfectly with pasta, salad or even a delicious soup. It’s so comforting…especially when you eat it straight out of the oven. Be warned, you will need to plan ahead (just like any bread) since you need to give it the proper time to rise, proof and bake.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/3 cup of hot water

  • 2 teaspoons of honey

  • 1/4 cup of olive oil (you will need additional oil to drizzle)

  • 3 1/2 cup of flour

  • 1 package of active dry yeast

  • 1 tbsp of flaked sea salt

  • 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

DIRECTIONS:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add your hot water and honey. Using the dough attachment, mix the two ingredients together. Add you packed of yeast to the top of the water and give it a quick stir. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the yeast to start working. You need to make sure you see it getting some foam on top.

Add in your olive oil and sea salt, turn your mixer on and gradually add your flour. Increase the speed of your mixer a little and let it work for about 5 minutes.

Once well mixed, remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape into a ball. Add a few drops of oil to grease the inside of your bowl. Place the ball of dough back into the bowl and cover it with a towel and let rise in a warm spot for at least 45 minutes to an hour.

Add your dough to a floured surface and roll it out. From there you can either shape it into a square or roll it into a circle until it is a least 1 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap so it can rise for another 15-20 minutes.

Transfer your dough to a baking sheet and discard the plastic wrap. Use your fingers (or the end of a cooking spoon) to poke holes all over the surface. Drizzle olive oil evenly over the top of your bread. Sprinkle the top of your bread with the fresh rosemary and the flaked sea salt.

Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes. Once you see the edges start to turn golden, then you know your bread is cooked through.

Remove from oven , slice and serve warm. Drizzle a little more olive oil when serving.

I hope you enjoy the comfort in this bread. Making it home made just makes it that much better!

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