One Hour Focaccia Bread

This One Hour Focaccia Bread is one of our favorite recipes! Made with fresh herbs, tons of garlic and parmesan cheese! This no-knead focaccia bread recipe comes out soft and fluffy on the inside and golden and crisp on the outside. You will never buy store bought focaccia again!

slice of focaccia bread on white plate topped with parmesan cheese and fresh herbs

Nothing beats freshly baked bread at home! Your house will smell amazing, and is there anything better than warm bread, straight out of the oven? I don’t think so! This recipe is so easy and comes together in only 20 minutes of prep time! I’ve included a step-by-step video and pictures below to make it even easier! Most breads take hours to make but this focaccia is ready in just ONE HOUR!

Every time I make this recipe everyone is so impressed! They can’t get over the fact I made my own focaccia bread at home AND in under an hour! You can do it too with just a few pantry staples, your stand mixer and 20 minutes prep!

What is focaccia bread?

Focaccia is an Italian flatbread similar to pizza.

Is focaccia pizza? No, not quite. Focaccia can be used as an appetizer with a dip, a side dish, snack, or the bread itself can even be used to make a sandwich (my favorite). Different parts of Italy have different variations – both savory, where they use ingredients like rosemary, garlic, sage and cheese, and sweet where they use sugar, raisins, honey, and other sweet ingredients.

What ingredients are in this one-hour focaccia recipe?

  • For the focaccia bread: all-purpose flour, rapid rise yeast, sugar, warm water (about 90 degrees), salt, and olive oil. This is an easy, basic bread recipe.
  • Toppings: rosemary, garlic, parmesan cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt. We combine all of these ingredients and brush it over the top, just before baking it in the oven.

serving up a slice of focaccia bread with a silver spatula

How do I make this easy Focaccia Bread recipe?

  • Preheat the oven and grease a cast-iron skillet with olive oil.
  • Activate the yeast: Add the water, sugar and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. Stir to combine, and allow it to sit for a few minutes until it gets nice and foamy. The water needs to be warm for the yeast to activate. I heat mine to around 90ºF.
  • Make the dough: Add in flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and forms a sticky ball. If it is not pulling from the sides add a bit more flour (a tablespoon at a time).

bread dough in stand mixer with the bread hook

  • Prepare the dough to rise: Lightly flour your hands and form the dough into a ball. Place it in the skillet, and spread the dough so it covers the entire skillet.
  • Turn off the oven and place the skillet in the oven for 20 minutes to rise.

spreading focaccia dough into large cast iron skillet

  • Remove the skillet from the oven, and turn the oven back on to 400ºF.
  • Prepare the coating: Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, parmesan, garlic powder, and rosemary. Brush the mixture on top of the bread. Using your fingertips make indentations on top of the dough.

make indentations into dough and sprinkle with herb butter

  • Let’s cook! Bake the bread for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese for topping, if desired.

baked focaccia out of the oven in cast iron skillet

Can I add other toppings to this one-hour focaccia bread?

Sure! I made this focaccia with rosemary, garlic, and parmesan, but here are some other topping ideas that would be delicious:
  • Herbs – Sage, thyme, oregano, basil, chives, spring onion, cilantro. Either in the coating before baking, or fresh herbs sprinkled on top after baking.
  • Minced fresh garlic
  • Red onion
  • Caramelized onions
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Sun-dried tomatoes
  • Olives
  • Peppers – fresh bell peppers, hot peppers or red chili flakes
  • Various Cheeses – cheddar, low-moisture mozzarella, feta, goat’s cheese, Romano, gouda
  • Seasonings – Everything Bagel Seasoning, Za’atar Seasoning, sumac

How do I store this homemade focaccia bread?

To eat within 2 days: This focaccia is best served fresh within a day or so. Store at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap, or in a container for 2 days. Reheat in a 375 degree over for 10 minutes.

Freezer: To freeze the focaccia cut into individual slices before freezing and wrap each slice in foil to help prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to 1 month.

What size skillet should I use?

We use a 12 inch cast iron skillet when making focaccia. Here’s the cast iron skillet we use! You could also use a cake pan or square baking pan if you prefer. Just note that the focaccia will be a lot thicker and will take longer to cook.

two white plates each topped with a slice of homemade focaccia bread

Italian Recipes to serve alongside the bread:

One Hour Focaccia Bread

4.3 from 10 votes
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8
Super Easy One Hour Focaccia Bread. Made with fresh rosemary, garlic and parmesan cheese!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup warm water I heat mine to about 90 degrees
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

For Serving, if desired

  • olive oil for drizzling if desired
  • sea salt for topping if desired
  • extra parmesan cheese for topping if desired

Instructions

Images:
  • Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease a cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, set aside.
  • Add the water, sugar, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough attachment. Stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes or until it becomes foamy.
  • Add in flour, salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Mix until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and forms a sticky ball. If it is not pulling from the sides add a bit more flour (a tablespoon at a time).
  • Lightly flour your hands and form the dough into a ball. Place in the skillet and spread to cover the entire skillet.
  • Turn off the oven and place the skillet in the oven for 20 minutes to rise. Remove the skillet from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.
  • Meanwhile combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, parmesan, garlic powder and rosemary.
  • Brush the mixture on top of the bread. Using your fingertips make indents over the top of the dough.
  • Place back in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt, and parmesan cheese for topping, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Recipe adapted from Flavor the Moments

Nutrition Facts
One Hour Focaccia Bread
Amount Per Serving
Calories 174 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 1mg0%
Sodium 159mg7%
Potassium 55mg2%
Carbohydrates 22g7%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 7IU0%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Bread, Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread, Focaccia, Focaccia Bread, Side dish

 

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Comments - page 1/2

  • Thelma

    1 3/4 cups flour is too little to make a ball of dough with 3/4 cup water. I kept adding flour a tablespoon at a time and the dough was still runny even after about 1/2 cup more flour.
    Sorry, this just didn’t do it for me.

    • So sorry this did not work for you Thelma! This is a family favorite and we make it often and don’t have problems with the amount of flour. The dough will be a bit sticky still.

      Thanks!

      Kelley

  • Rita

    Super easy! Super delicious! It was picture perfect. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a keeper!

  • Maisee

    Just tried your recipe and it turned out great! I didn’t have a cast iron skillet so i used a round baking pan instead.

  • Brooke

    I don’t have a mixer, and this will be my first time making bread!! Can I just knead by hand? I really don’t know bread rules so I will be attempting to follow this recipe exactly, apart from this step.

    • Hi Brooke!

      Yes you can make this without a stand mixer. Simply knead the dough by hand on the counter. It will take a bit of time and elbow grease but it should work just fine.

      Thank you & Enjoy!!

      Kelley

  • Brooke

    Update… made this today. So, so good!! Will be sharing the recipe! Thank you!

  • Susan

    This looks like a very easy recipe and would love to make it. I do not have rapid rise yeast. Can I use Active dry yeast instead, Hopefully you can answer today as I am making your recipe for Jumbo Stuffed Shells, using my home made tomato sauce.
    Thanks.

    • Hi Susan!

      I am sorry to get to you a day late I hope you were able to make the bread to go with the stuffed shells! Yes you can definitely use active dry yeast it will just take a bit longer to rise that’s all.

      Thanks and hope you enjoyed the stuffed shells!

      Kelley

  • Michelle

    This is the best focaccia I’ve ever had. It’s flavourful and crispy and not too tough. I added Italian seasoning, basil and thyme to the spice mix and cooked it in a nine-inch cake pan, and it turned out great. I’ll use it again.

  • Pauline

    I’m sorry to say I tried this recipe twice. Both times there didn’t seem to be enough moisture. I tried in my mixmaster first and it was such a mess I threw it out. Then I tried to mix it by hand. Same problem. Dry and crumbly. I was very careful in my measurements. So disappointing. I usually use a very easy one hour recipe but I couldn’t find it and so I tried this one. 😢

    • Hi Pauline,

      I am so sorry to hear that this recipe did not work out for you! I hate hearing this! It’s hard to say what could have gone wrong because we have made this recipe as a family numerous times and have never had an issue with it being crumbly.

      Thanks for giving my recipe a try!

      Kelley

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