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Whole tomato rosemary focaccia on a wooden board with sliced pieces showing the light, airy interior, served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.
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Same-Day Focaccia

This easy Same-Day Focaccia is golden and crisp on the outside, soft and airy on the inside, and topped with blistered cherry tomatoes, fragrant rosemary, flaky sea salt, and fresh basil. No overnight rise required!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Rise time 4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 311kcal
Author Tawnie Graham of Kroll's Korner

Ingredients

For the Dough (see notes below)

  • 4 ⅛ cups bread flour
  • 1 ¾ cups warm water (100-105°F)
  • 2 ¼ tsp (1 standard packet) instant yeast
  • 3 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 2 tsp. Morton kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, *see notes below

For the Pan

Toppings

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved; I like using the heirloom variety for color
  • 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, lightly chopped; you don’t want specs but not big pieces either
  • Maldon Flaky sea salt
  • extra virgin olive oil

For Finishing

  • fresh basil leaves, optional
  • zest of 1 lemon, optional
  • extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • hot honey, optional
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • *Note: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale & dry weighing ingredients in grams (switch over to metric) for best results.
  • Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, warm water, yeast, salt, and olive oil. Mix with a wooden spoon or dough whisk until no dry flour remains and a shaggy dough forms. The dough will be sticky and that's exactly what you want. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes on the counter. Start Timer
    4 ⅛ cups bread flour, 1 ¾ cups warm water (100-105°F), 2 ¼ tsp (1 standard packet) instant yeast, 3 ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    Step-by-step collage showing how to mix bread flour, water, yeast, olive oil, and salt together to make a sticky focaccia dough.
  • Perform the coil folds (4 rounds total): With damp hands, slide both hands underneath the center of the dough and gently lift upward, allowing the ends of the dough to fold underneath themselves as you lower it back down.
    Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat once again. Keep lifting and rotating the bowl for ~4 coil folds.
    Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Start Timer
    Repeat this process 3 more times, for a total of 4 rounds of coil folds (4 lifts each round), resting 20 minutes between each round. See video for guidance.
    By the final round, the dough should feel smoother, stronger, and noticeably stretchier.
    Step-by-step collage demonstrating stretch and fold techniques to strengthen focaccia dough after mixing.
  • Bulk rise: Cover and let the dough rise until nearly doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Start Timer
    Focaccia dough before and after the first rise, showing how the dough doubles in size during bulk fermentation.
  • Transfer to the pan: Line a 9x13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper. (I really like this one.)
    Generously coat the parchment, bottom, and sides of the pan with ~2-3 tablespoons olive oil.
    Carefully transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Gently stretch each side of the dough toward the center, folding it like a letter. Then flip the dough over so the seams are underneath.
    Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for at least 45-60 minutes, or until noticeably puffy and airy. Once again, it could take a little longer than 1 hour depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Use visual cues (puffy, spread out, jiggles when you shake pan, to help determine if it's ready. Start Timer
    parchment paper, 2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
    Step-by-step collage showing how to transfer, stretch, and fold focaccia dough into an olive oil-coated baking pan before the second rise.
  • Dimple and top: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the surface of the dough generously with olive oil. Using your fingertips, firmly dimple the dough all over, pressing almost to the bottom of the pan.
    Nestle the cherry tomatoes and rosemary into some of the dimples, cut side facing up. Sprinkle generously with flaky sea salt. (Note: at this step here, you can really add anything you’d like, see my variations section in the blog post above for more ideas!)
    1 cup cherry tomatoes, 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary, Maldon Flaky sea salt, extra virgin olive oil
    Step-by-step collage showing how to drizzle focaccia dough with olive oil, dimple the surface, and top with cherry tomatoes and fresh rosemary before baking.
  • Bake: Bake for ~22-28 minutes, or until deeply golden brown and the tomatoes are blistered and jammy. Start Timer The bottom should be crisp and lightly browned. Cool in the pan for ~10-15 minutes, then remove and place on a cutting board or cooling rack. Start Timer
    Before and after comparison of tomato rosemary focaccia, showing the dough before baking and the finished golden brown focaccia fresh from the oven.
  • Finish and serve: While the focaccia is still warm, drizzle with a little more olive oil. Top with fresh basil and lemon zest (optional). Finish with hot honey and an additional pinch of flaky sea salt if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. HEAVEN!
    fresh basil leaves, zest of 1 lemon, extra virgin olive oil, hot honey
    Finished homemade focaccia topped with cherry tomatoes, fresh rosemary, flaky sea salt, and olive oil, served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

Video

Notes

  • Measurements
    • I highly recommend using a kitchen scale & weighing ingredients for best results.
    • Click the "convert to metric" button in the recipe card to see the weight (grams) of each ingredients instead of cups/tsp/Tbsp.
  • Olive Oil
    • A quality olive oil makes all the difference.
    • I really like Bono or Partanna
    • Go for something fruity and peppery, something you’d want to dunk your bread into.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 1025mg | Potassium: 138mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 93IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg