By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus up to 2 hours' storing
- Rating
- 4(349)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This beautiful bread is a great way to use summer tomatoes, but the heat from the oven will draw rich, deep flavor from the less flavorful ones found in winter as well.
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Ingredients
Yield:12 to 15 servings
- 2teaspoons (8 grams) active dry yeast
- 1teaspoon (5 grams) sugar
- 1½cups lukewarm water
- 2tablespoons (25 grams) olive oil, plus an additional 2 tablespoons (25 grams) for drizzling
- 250grams (approximately 2 cups) whole-wheat flour
- 200 to 220grams (approximately 1⅔ to 1¾ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour, plus additional as needed for kneading
- 1¾teaspoons (13 grams) salt
- ¾pound Roma tomatoes
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 to 2tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (to taste)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (14 servings)
148 calories; 3 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 4 grams protein; 202 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In the bowl of a standing mixer, or in a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Add the olive oil, whole-wheat flour, 200 grams of the all-purpose flour and salt and mix together briefly using the paddle attachment. Change to the dough hook and beat for 8 to 10 minutes at medium speed, adding flour as necessary. The dough should eventually form a ball around the dough hook and slap against the sides of the bowl as the mixer turns; it will be sticky. Remove from the bowl, flour your hands and knead for a minute on a lightly floured surface, and shape into a ball.
Step
2
If kneading the dough by hand, dissolve the yeast in the water with the sugar as directed. Stir in the olive oil, whole-wheat flour, salt and all-purpose flour by the half-cup, until the dough can be scraped out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour as necessary, for 10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth. Shape into a ball.
Step
3
Clean and dry your bowl and oil lightly with olive oil. Place the dough in it, rounded side down first, then rounded side up. Cover tightly with plastic and let rise in a warm spot for 1½ to 2 hours, or in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours, until doubled.
Step
4
Punch down the dough. Cover with lightly oiled plastic and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Step
5
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably with a baking stone in it. Line a sheet pan with parchment and oil generously. Roll or press out the dough into a rectangle the size of the sheet pan or just slightly smaller. To do this efficiently, roll or press out the dough, stop and wait 5 minutes for the gluten to relax, then roll or press out again, and repeat until the dough reaches the right size. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes. Just before baking, use your fingertips to dimple the dough all over.
Step
6
Cut the tomatoes into rounds and place on top of the focaccia. Sprinkle with coarse salt and the rosemary. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil over all.
Step
7
Bake, setting the pan on top of the baking stone (if using), for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely.
Tip
- Advance preparation: You can make the dough through Step 4 and place it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Remove from the bag and bring to room temperature before proceeding. The bread should be eaten or frozen within a couple of days.
Ratings
4
out of 5
349
user ratings
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Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Ellen
If you are using a pizza stone, the 45 min preheat gives the stone time to heat.
Jean
Step 5 Preheat oven comes about 45 minutes before baking, which wastes energy--15 minutes should be plenty of time to preheat the oven and should follow the instruction to let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Katherine
Doable by hand. I've made this once a month for the last year, and never used a standing mixer.
Jean
I made the dough in my bread machine dough cycle and it turned out fabulous.
Bibi
Mine came out like thick pizza. Not sure what I did wrong. First rise was fine but the third one wasn't. Should have baked after the second, 15-minute, rise, and called it a day. It still had loft.
HollyH
The pepper is seen in the picture and listed in the recipe, but never makes an appearance. I’m sure it was meant to go on just before heading into the oven, but I forgot about it and went without.
Scott
Used 450 g all purpose flour, which was way too wet. Added more flour until started forming a ball in stand mixer. Stuck to bottom, but not to sides
Taylor
This is a nice focaccia but I would maybe do 1.5x the recipe for a standard half sheet pan. I wanted it a bit thicker and it didn’t quite reach the edge of the pan. Also not totally convinced it needed WW flour.
GreenSageSJ
I half cheated b/c I had a batch of Roberta's Pizza Dough thawing in the fridge already. As focaccia, it was perfect with fresh garden tomatoes & rosemary. As an extra boost, I sprinkled it with homemade tomato salt and cracked pepper. Kabam!
kirstin
I would definitely not make this again. The tomatoes were good, but the bread itself is dry, on the flat side despite good risings, and tasteless.
L
This was perfect. I added extra rosemary to the dough and it worked well (almost on the verge of medicinal, but not). Didn’t have a pizza stone. Didn’t have a stand mixer. The salt and olive oil on top was necessary and really added to the dish. Would definitely make again.
L
Used a mix of white flour and 00 flour. Didn’t have whole wheat. Really yummy.
Lee
caramelized onions or artichoke heartsuse basil parm oil
Kim
I toss the rosemary into the dough, not on top, and the flavor goes through the whole loaf. Sometimes throw some olives in there too. Delicious!
DG
Crust was nice with a little chew to it. Baked 24 minutes using the pizza stone. But agreed that it’s a little on the plain side; I even added some parmesan on top before baking but it needs something more. Experiment with flavor combinations.
RedQueenCoder
This was really disappointing. The wheat flour plus a lack of oil or cheese just made the whole thing dry as a bone.
Stu
Oil is the fourth ingredient, but I agree there could be a little more. Focaccia. almost by definition, needs a good bit of oil. I never thought of any kind of bread as "health food". I'd reverse the ratio of flours; a little more bread flour and less wheat flour. As someone else said, I always put the rosemary IN the dough, not ON the dough.
Amanda
This was lovely, but a bit thick. The recipe didn’t specify what size sheet pan, so I used a quarter sheet. I think bigger than 1/4 sheet (9x13”) but smaller than a 1/2 sheet would be good. Love the tomatoes, I think you could prob sub out zucchini slices, roasted peppers, caramelized onions or artichoke hearts. I don’t have a pizza stone, but didn’t find it necessary. You could maybe use the floor of the oven too.
Isabella
Not a tasty focaccia
Sarah
I wasn’t a fan of the wheaty flavor— it tasted overly heavy and a bit dry. It may have been better with a different ratio of wheat flour to bread flour, or perhaps with more salt or cheese or olive oil on top.
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