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Easy focaccia bread with piece on top of loaf.

Super Easy Focaccia Bread

Yield: 12 Servings (9X13-inch pan of bread)
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

Bread:

  • 1 ½ cups warm water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling in pan
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast, see note for active dry yeast
  • 3 cups (426 g) all-purpose flour (see note for whole wheat flour)
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan, Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Topping:

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon more or less dried herbs or Italian herb/seasoning blend
  • ½ cup shredded Parmesan, Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions 

  • Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a 9X13-inch pan (I use a metal pan; if using a glass pan, you might want to decrease the oven temp to 350 degrees F - also commenters who have used a glass pan are reporting back that the bread sticks so consider also greasing with nonstick cooking spray and lining with parchment).
  • In a large bowl, combine the water, olive oil, salt, yeast, flour and cheese. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula (or handheld dough hook; see pictures in the post) until thoroughly combined and no dry spots remain. The dough will be very wet and sticky.
  • Scrape the dough into the middle of the prepared pan. Grease your hands and press the dough into an even layer (it doesn't have to be perfect but try to get it mostly even). Gently press your fingertips into the top of the dough to create little dimples (you can do this and add the toppings after it rises if you want the holes to be more pronounced). Drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with herb seasoning and top with 1/2 cup cheese.
  • Cover the pan and let it rise until puffy, about an hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and baked through. Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from the pan (turn it out onto a rack or platter), break or cut into pieces and serve.

Notes

Yeast: for active dry yeast, use the same amount (1 tablespoon) and stir it into the 1 1/2 cups water and let it proof until it is bubbling (a couple minutes). Then add the other ingredients and proceed with the recipe.
Flour: I've had great luck subbing in half whole wheat flour (I use hard white wheat); I haven't tried it with 100% whole wheat flour.
Seasoning: if your seasonings/blend don't have added salt, I'd recommend sprinkling a little coarse, kosher salt over the dough with the dried herbs. Speaking of salt, if you use a less salty cheese, you might want to up the salt in the dough recipe a bit.