Rosemary and Olive Oil Focaccia Bread
This Rosemary Focaccia Bread is a great beginner bread make with all purpose flour and only a one hour rise.
One day long ago, in our tiny little newlywed apartment, I got this insane desire to make homemade bread.
Okay, no biggie, right?ย Except YES biggie, because I had never made bread before in my life.
But suddenly, I NEEDED to make bread. Like now.
In a crazed carb-craving state I began thumbing my way through cookbooks and searching the Internet for recipes.
Most of the recipes seemed easy enough. In fact, I was surprised to find that most of them only required about 5 ingredients.
But then I read the directions. Almost all of them included this line: Place dough ball in a bowl and allow to rise for 1-2 hours. And a few steps down the page there was nearly always this: now, place the shaped loavesย in the baking pans and allow to rise for another bagillion hours.
At that point in my life, 2 hours of rise time might as well have been a week.
Also, bread flour. What the heck was that? My poor little 22 year old brain had no concept of multiple kinds of flours. I mean, flour is flour, right? And how do these bread bakers expect me to drive 5 minutes to the store just to get special flour?!
It felt like I would never get fresh baked bread. The holy grail of homemade bread might as well have been across a pool filled with lava, teeming with alligators, and infested with e-coli. I almost gave up and just made some pizza rolls.
But then I found it. Homemade focaccia bread. In my Betty Crocker Cookbook .
It only required 1 hour of rise time- TOTAL. And the best part? It could be made with all purpose flour.
I set to work mixing the ingredients together, kneading, and resting. I felt a little skeptical when I threw the dough into the bowl, but I walked away and impatiently waited 30 minutes before returning. To my surprise and awe, when I returned the dough had puffed and swelled to twice its size.
I punched the dough down (how fun is that?) then shaped them into rounds, placed little round dots on the top with my fingers, then sprinkled it with Parmesan cheese. 30 minutes later I slid them into the oven. The most wonderful smell began to fill our apartment. It was the smell of yeast and Parmesan and fresh rosemary. It was the smell of fresh baked bread.
Ever since, I’ve been hooked on this bread. It really is a cinch to make and it’s the perfect bread for dipping into olive oil or serving alongside spaghetti. It has a wonderful golden cheesy crust and is light and fluffy on the inside.
The bread can be sliced in half lengthwise and used as a pizza crust, or used as sandwich bread and stuffed with all manner of tasty meats and cheeses.
But if you really want to enjoy the pure goodness of this bread, I suggest you simply slice it in long strips, put them under the broiler for just a few minutes to crisp them up, then dip them into a mixture of olive oil, balsamic reduction, and Italian herbs. It’s. the. best.
If bread making sounds scary to you, this is a great recipe to start. No special ingredients. No impossible wait time. Plus, I promise the smell alone will be worth your efforts.
Rosemary and Olive Oil Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 package rapid rise or regular dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Good quality olive oil and dried Italian herbs for dipping (optional)
Instructions
Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook (Bridal Edition)
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I love focaccia bread! Bread can be so intimidating but it’s so rewarding when it’s done. I love the rosemary addition too!
I agree. It’s definitely one of the most rewarding things to make. I’m still always amazed that it actually works, and that such simple ingredients can make something so delicious.
Congrats on your bread milestone!!! It’s so intimidating at first but as you saw, you had serious and delicious success your first time. Way to go! I bet this made your kitchen smell awesome too.
how perfect! I have hardly any patience when it comes to bread! I need bread that is done within like an hour or so haha. Looks good!
Me neither…It’s bad! But this one is worth waiting for!
Oh, this is wonderful looking! I’m also not much of a bread-baker. All of that time just doesn’t seem worth it to me, but hey – I’m lazy. This recipe looks completely do-able though!
Me too Lori. That’s why this bread works for me. It’s like couch potato bread!
Looks delish! I love bread dipped in olive oil and balsamic, I could make a meal out of it!
xxx
Jaclyn
http://www.loveandbellinis.com
Oh believe me, we did make a meal out of this! ๐ Thanks for stopping by!