Olive rosemary focaccia bread recipe

Easy olive rosemary focaccia bread recipe! How to make focaccia bread step by step in a cast iron skillet. Crisp, golden crust with the most tender interior.

Hey, Rhubarbarians! Today, we are baking some bread. Some mega-tasty, crispy edged, salty, herby, flavorful rosemary focaccia bread.

This focaccia bread recipe is from the pages of The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook by Tiffany La Forge, a lady that we are proud to call a dear friend. After purchasing her cookbook, we knew we wanted to share this stellar cast iron focaccia with you. Enjoy!

What is focaccia bread?

Focaccia (pronounced "fuh-KA-cha") bread is a flat, oven-baked bread from Italy. It's a yeasted bread that requires the dough to rise and requires minimal kneading. It's made with olive oil and often topped with herbs like rosemary and sometimes vegetables.

Focaccia bread: the bread for beginners

"If you've never dealt with yeast before, focaccia is a great place to start. Making it in cast iron ensures it produces a crisp, golden crust with the most tender interior." - Tiffany La Forge

This is the first loaf of bread we have EVER made with yeast in our house, and it turned out amazing. Although it takes some time for the dough to rise, this bread couldn't be any simpler to make. Even a first time bread maker could tackle this and be very successful!

Why it's easy:

• It starts with active dry yeast. You can pick this up at your grocery store in the baking aisle. All you do is stir 1 ½ teaspoon into some warm water and sugar and the magic starts to happen. Voila!
• There are very few ingredients. Once you've got your yeast started, you just need flour, salt, and olive oil to make a classic focaccia bread. That's it!
• You don't need to be good at kneading dough. This step is just a few of pushes with your hands and you're done.

Have you tried this vegan oat flour banana bread recipe yet?

The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook

We LOOOOOVE this cookbook and this focaccia bread recipe! Jared and I are super into our cast iron skillet. It's one that we've been seasoning together since before we were married, about 10 years now. We make so many things in ours and are so stoked to have a cookbook full of amazing recipes to make in it!

Every recipe in this book is made in a cast iron pan (big duh, huh?). The first chapter walks you through everything you need to know about buying, owning, cleaning, and cooking with cast iron.

The rest of the book is broken down into chapters like breakfast & brunch, biscuits & bread, vegetables, vegetarian & vegan (YESSS!), the meat chapters, and then desserts. Everything's there!

Recipes that I want to try:

• Banana and chocolate-hazelnut dutch baby pancake
• Sweet potato biscuits with maple butter
• Mini buffalo hasselback potatoes
• Beer battered zucchini tacos with avocado crema
• Peanut butter and jelly skillet cookie

You can purchase The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook, A new generation of easy, fresh, and healthy recipes on Amazon.

Let's learn now to make focaccia, shall we?

Phase 1: the first rise

This first phase of the focaccia making process is the longest and most hands-on. You'll need to prepare your yeast and get the dough mixed together.

• First, mix the warm water, sugar, and yeast together in a small bowl. Let it sit until it's foamy, about 10-15 minutes.
• While that's going, make your dough by combining the flour, salt, olive oil, and yeast mixture in the bowl of a standing electric mixer and mixing with the bread hook. Mix until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.
• Knead the dough a few times on a floured surface. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth.
• Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours until doubled in size.

Phase 2: the second rise

This middle phase of the focaccia making process can look intimidating, but is actually very quick and easy.

• Place some oil in the bottom of your skillet and place the dough on top of that.
• Flatten, stretch, and spread the dough out to the edges using your fingertips.
• Cover the dough again and place it in a warm spot.
• Let the dough rise for 1 hour, until doubled.

Phase 3: the bake

You finally get to bake and eat your bread! Yay!

• First, create the little dimples you see in the photo with your fingertips.
• Drizzle with olive oil and the fresh rosemary.
• Bake until golden.
• Enjoy!

What to eat and serve with focaccia bread

• Grab and slice and eat it! It's delicious on it's own.
• Dip it into your favorite soup, like our homemade tomato soup.
• Slice it in half horizontally and make a delicious sandwich.
• Eat it alongside your favorite salad, like our arugula salad with lemon rosemary chickpeas.
• Add it to a cheese platter or appetizer plate.

Recipe

Olive rosemary focaccia bread recipe

Tiffany La Forge

Easy olive rosemary focaccia bread recipe! How to make focaccia bread step by step in a cast iron skillet. Crisp, golden crust with the most tender interior.

5 from 11 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Rising time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, bread

Cuisine Italian

Servings 8 slices

Calories 251 kcal

Equipment

• 10" cast iron skillet

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup warm water 105 to 115° F
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 18 medium pitted kalamata olives, halved

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture sit until foamy, 10-15 minutes.
• In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the bread hook, combine the flour and salt. Add ¼ cup of the olive oil and the yeast mixture. Mix for about 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it a few times. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and place in a warm spot. Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
• Place 2 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the skillet. Place the focaccia dough on top of that, and, using your fingers, flatten, stretch, and spread the dough out to the edges. Cover the dough again and place it in a warm spot for 1 hour, until doubled.
• Preheat the oven to 450° F.
• Create small "dimples" in the focaccia bread with your fingertips. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoon of olive oil on top, along with the chopped rosemary. Season with salt, and lay the olive halves on top.
• Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

When proofing yeast, make sure the water is between 105 and 115 degrees F, around the temperature of a hot bath. If the water is too hot, the yeast will die; if it's too cold, the yeast will  not grow.

You'll need a 10" cast iron skillet for this recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 251kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 4gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 432mgPotassium: 41mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 35IUCalcium: 9mgIron: 2mg

Keyword vegan, vegetarian

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Thank you so much to Tiffany for letting us share her fantastic recipe! Don’t forget to check out her book for all of the fantastic dishes made in a cast iron skillet!

If you make this recipe, please let us know on social media or in the comments below! Leave a star rating in your comment or tag us on Instagram with #Rhubarbarians and #ParsnipsAndPastries.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting Rhubarbarians and The Modern Cast Iron Cookbook. If you’re looking for a group of people cooking vegetarian recipes through the seasons, join us on Facebook in our vegetarian and vegan recipes group!

Hope you enjoy!

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