Easy Overnight Focaccia Recipe
With only 5 ingredients and just 5 minutes hands-on time, you can make the best focaccia recipe! Make this dough up to 48 hours ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake – this yields a focaccia with amazing flavor! You can also make this focaccia the same day, from start-to-finish in 3 hours. See my instructional video below which makes this an even more easy focaccia recipe to enjoy!
I often get asked what my favorite thing to bake is. For me, focaccia is in my top 3! It’s so easy to make, so delicious, and there are countless ways to enjoy it! This is the best focaccia bread recipe! I’m confident you’ll love it too! You’ll also love my other focaccia bread variations like Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Focaccia and Cinnamon Roll Focaccia!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Focaccia is a superstar when it comes to breads! There’s many reasons why you’ll love making this bread:
- EASY to make – Focaccia is mixed by hand in only 5 minutes, and requires no kneading.
- The perfect bread recipe for beginners! If you are intimidated by bread making, this is the perfect recipe to start with!
- Super soft and fluffy!
- Simple ingredients – Focaccia consists of only 5 ingredients!
- A flexible time schedule – Since you can refrigerate the dough for up to 48 hours, this recipe is ideal for busy schedules!
- So many options for toppings! Change up the flavor of your focaccia by adding different toppings like herbs, fruits & vegetables, meats and cheeses.
- Serve this bread as a side or make the most incredible focaccia sandwiches!
- Delicious – Even though it’s super simple, focaccia packs a lot of yummy flavor!
What is Focaccia
Loved for its simplicity and rich flavor, focaccia (pronounced FO-KAH-CHA) is an Italian, yeasted flatbread. It is made of simple ingredients: flour, water, salt, yeast and olive oil. It can be made with different herbs and toppings, making it an ideal bread base for either sweet or savory creations.
Focaccia is made with a high hydrated dough (a high ratio of water to flour). Higher hydrated doughs allow the ingredients to be more evenly dispersed, resulting in a bread dough which ferments (rises) at a faster rate. These types of doughs are also known to produce a moist bread with an open crumb (airy bread with holes in it).
Ingredients for the BEST Focaccia
Even though the ingredients for this recipe are quite simple, what you use can make a big difference in how your focaccia turns out. (click on the words in bold for links to purchase or learn more)
- FLOUR CHOICE: In bread making, the importance of flour choice cannot be overstated! The flour used for a super tall and fluffy focaccia should be a high protein (or high gluten) bread flour. The gluten-forming proteins in the flour will help encourage a great gluten structure, which is particularly important when dealing with high hydrated (and often difficult to handle) doughs. All-purpose flour can be used, but your focaccia will not rise as much and be a bit more difficult to work with. If you prefer a thinner, more crispy but chewy focaccia, I’d recommend using a type 00 flour (which is typically used for pizza and homemade pasta). Often I will use a combination of both, with the bread flour being the majority of the total flour. You can play around with different flour choices to see what you prefer, but you’ll notice you get slightly different results as you switch things up.
- SALT: There are two types of salt in this recipe…fine sea salt for the dough and sea salt flakes for sprinkling on top. These two are very different and not interchangeable. For the dough, use a fine sea salt to make sure it incorporates well into the ingredients. Be sure to splurge on some Maldon Sea Salt Flakes for sprinkling on top of your Focaccia! This finishing touch adds a subtle hint of saltiness that really enhances the flavors and tastes so good!
- OLIVE OIL: The focaccia dough will rise in an oiled container, bake in an oiled pan and be finished will more olive oil. Choosing a good quality extra virgin olive oil can be a great way to give your focaccia an added element of richness and deliciousness! My most favorite olive oil I only use on very special occasions is the one I purchased on my trip to Rome this year. It’s so good and opened my eyes to what good, quality olive oil can do for your breads! While the one I got in Italy isn’t available to ship, there are many good quality olive oils you can find. If you are wanting an authentic Italian olive oil, be sure to look for the seal on the bottle that says, “product of Italy.”
- YEAST: This recipe uses Instant Yeast, but you can also use Active Dry Yeast too. I have an article about the differences between these yeasts you can read here: Active Dry Yeast vs. Instant Yeast. I almost always opt for instant yeast, since it can be easily added to recipes without having to proof it first. Brands of instant yeast I like to use are: SAF and BellaRise. If you’d like to swap out the instant yeast for sourdough starter, check the recipe notes for instructions on that.
How to make Easy Overnight Focaccia
Focaccia is the easiest bread to make! It’s perfect for beginners, but experienced bread makers love it too! An overnight focaccia is one that can be made ahead of time and baked whenever you are ready! You’ll love the flexibility of this recipe!
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast.
- Add the water and stir to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl as you mix and make sure there are no dry bits of flour remaining.
- In a separate large bowl, drizzle 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil to coat the bottom of the bowl. Add the dough and turn it so all sides are coated in the olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid.
- Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before placing in the refrigerator. Once in the refrigerator, the dough will continue to rise (make sure your bowl is big enough to accomodate the increase in dough volume). Leave the dough in the refrigerator for anywhere from 8-48 hours. The longer it remains in the refrigerator, the more complex and delicious the flavor of the focaccia will be. (*You can also make focaccia the same day – simply allow the dough to rest until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Then continue to step 6.)
- Remove the dough from refrigerator and let sit in the bowl for 30 minutes to warm up a bit.
- Drizzle a half sheet baking pan (13×18-inches) with 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil. Use your fingers to completely coat the surface and sides of the pan with oil. This is very important as it keeps the focaccia from sticking to the pan.
- Turn the dough out onto the oiled baking sheet and flip it over. The smooth side of the dough should be facing up. Begin to gently stretch the dough to fill the pan. Use the backs of your hands and knuckles to stretch it without tearing the dough. If the dough is resisting, let it rest 5-10 minutes. Return and stretch the dough again – it should be more relaxed and easier to stretch.
- Cover the pan with a plastic dome lid or with plastic wrap (be sure to spray the plastic wrap with nonstick spray). Let the dough rise until it puffs up and reaches the level of the baking sheet, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the final rise time, preheat oven to 450°F/230°C.
- Uncover risen dough and oil your fingertips. Gently dimple the dough with your fingertips, pressing all the way down to the pan.
- Sprinkle 1-2 Tablespoons sea salt flakes on top, plus any rosemary or other herbs you like. Bake 18-24 minutes or until golden.
- Place the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack. Brush the top of the focaccia with 1-2 Tablespoon olive oil. Loosen the edges of the focaccia from the pan with a metal spatula. Slide the bread onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
How to add toppings to your focaccia
There are so many different ways you can top your homemade focaccia! Perhaps the most classic way to top it is the simplest – salt & rosemary. It’s my favorite! Feel free to experiment and add whatever you like!
For herbs, you can use either dry or fresh. A simple herbed focaccia is perfect for sandwiches!
Try a loaded focaccia! One of my favorite topping combinations is made with dollops of ricotta, caramelized red onions, slightly cooked sliced of pears, and fresh thyme. After it comes out of the oven, drizzle on some honey! Oh my yum!
Make focaccia art! You can arrange cut up veggies in an artistic design and bake it on top of your focaccia! I love to do themed focaccia art for different seasons and holidays, like the Halloween focaccia I made on Instagram.
Top your focaccia with seasonal fruits and veggies! One of my favorites is this ricotta, thyme and peach focaccia I made last summer! So good!
Can I make overnight focaccia the same day?
If you don’t have 1-2 days to refrigerate your focaccia dough, you can make this recipe from start to finish in about 3 hours! Here’s how:
- Once you transfer the mixed dough to an oiled container, cover and let it rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
- Place the dough into an oiled baking sheet and continue with the rest of the recipe instructions. You may notice that the second rise time will be a bit shorter than it would be when using refrigerated dough.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Easy Overnight Focaccia Recipe
Easy Overnight Focaccia
Ingredients
Dough
- 690 g warm water 100°F/37°C (2¾ cups)
- 7 g instant yeast (2¼ teaspoons) *see notes
- 840 g bread flour (7 cups)
- 20 g fine sea salt (4 teaspoons)
- 112 g high quality extra virgin olive oil divided (½ cup)
Topping
- sea salt flakes (I like to use Maldon brand or fleur de sel)
- dry or fresh rosemary leaves (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the water, yeast, flour and fine sea salt. You can mix initially with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk, but will need to finish up by hand. Pinch dough together until no dry bits remain. Mixture will be thick and sticky.690 g warm water7 g instant yeast (2¼ teaspoons)840 g bread flour20 g fine sea salt (4 teaspoons)
- In a separate large bowl, drizzle 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil to coat the bottom. Transfer the dough to the oiled container. Turn the dough so that all sides are coated in olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap or lid. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 12-48 hours. The dough will rise to double in size in the refrigerator. *See notes for same day baking option. 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Remove from refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes in the container, slightly warming up.
- Prepare a half sheet baking pan (18×13-inches) by coating the bottom and sides with 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil. Turn the dough out from the container and onto the oiled pan and flip so that the smooth side is facing up. 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Gently stretch the dough to fill the pan. Use the backs of your hands and knuckles to stretch the dough without tearing it. If the dough is springing back and not staying in place, let it rest 10 minutes and come back to it. Cover the dough lightly with plastic wrap or a dome plastic pan lid. Let rise until it reaches the level of the pan, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the final rise time, preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C.
- Uncover and lightly oil your fingertips. Gently dimple the dough by pressing into it with your fingertips. Press all the way to the pan. Create a moderate amount of dimples throughout the dough without depressing too many of the air bubbles. Sprinkle 1-2 Tablespoons of sea salt flakes on top and dried or fresh rosemary leaves, if desired.sea salt flakes dry or fresh rosemary leaves
- Bake 18-24 minutes or until golden brown. After it comes out of the oven, brush the top of the focaccia with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Remove focaccia from the pan with a large spatula and slide onto a wire cooling rack. If the focaccia is slightly sticking to the pan, loosen it around all the edges with the spatula and then slide it out. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Store any leftover focaccia in an airtight container. Best served the day of, but will remain fresh for up to 2 more days.
Video
Notes
- *You can use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, add the yeast to the water first and let it sit for 10 minutes until it bubbles. Then add to the rest of the recipe.
- Same Day Option: You can make this recipe without refrigerating the dough. Instead of placing the dough into the refrigerator, continue to let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 90 minutes to 2 hours. Then shape, rise and bake as directed in the recipe.
- Sourdough Version: Decrease the amount of water by 70g and decrease the amount of flour by 70g. Add 1/2 cup ripe starter (140g) to the water and break it up with your fingers. Add the mixture to the flour and salt and mix. You may want to complete 2-3 sets of stretch and fold before bulk fermentation. Continue recipe as instructed. Rise times will be at least doubled, but will vary.
it looked so promising, I used plenty of oil, but I think I should have put baking paper in the pan as it stuck to the pan completely. This is a first for me and I was so upset as it looked so good.
I’m so sorry it didn’t work out for you! Some suggestions for next time – use a good nonstick pan, use more oil than you think you might need or try rubbing a layer of softened butter over the bottom of your pan before oiling, or you could try using parchment, although it won’t give you that really great toasty bottom crust. I hope you give it another try! Focaccia is a really yummy homemade bread recipe, and learning to bake bread can come with some failures before successes.
I wish mine had turned out but most things I make dont and this didnt double over night. No surprise.
This recipe is so amazing ! Focaccia was so light and crisp on the outside bit pillowy soft on the inside. Leaving it proof overnight in the fridge was a game changer. Developed such a complex beautiful flavor. Everyone loved it . Definitely making again. Thanks Heather !!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
I wrote to you on the tortilla site about milling flour. How do I make bread flour from fresh milled. I want to make this focaccia and tortillas first then follow your bread recipe. Thanks for this great site. Dawn cuts my hair and she told me about you.
Hi Cheryl, I mill all my own flour too, and I’ve had the best luck using recipes specifically developed for fresh milled flour (it really does behave differently than store-bought flour). I’ve had great success with the recipes at Hope This Werks — especially for bread and tortillas. https://hopethiswerks.com/homemade-food/
As a normal person, you should look at the whole recipe before commenting. Especially giving it a 1 star without even trying it! It gives you the option of having it in metric.
Not sure what went wrong. Used the 7 cups of bread flour etc, then added the water. It was so dry it wouldn’t hold together. Added almost another cup of water and it is still a dry lump. Refrigerated overnight and no rise. Still very dry. what the heck?
Hi! Okay, question for you…did you weigh your flour or scoop it? If you’re scooping it, you might be using too much flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, I’d suggest spooning the flour into your measuring cup and then leveling with a knife.
Hi Heather,
I made this recipe over yesterday and today. It was all very easy to follow and it turned out great – especially since I haven’t made focaccia before. The sheet pan I bought was a little too big (15×23) so I was concerned about it being too big. It turned out fine with one side of the bread being a bit thinner since it was allowed to relax in the extra space of the pan. The rise time in the pan was x2 hours for me but it’s been quite cold recently so that makes sense. I topped it with dried rosemary, salt and some crushed (canned) roma tomatoes.
Thanks – I’ll be keeping this recipe handy!
Mike
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for trying it out!
There is an option to switch to weights in the ingredient section. Just click on the Metric option and it will convert the recipe to weights. Hope you give it a try. Have a lovely day.
is this supposed to be 7 cups of flour?
Yes. This makes a large focaccia – a half sheet pan size. You can definitely half the recipe and make it in a 9×13 inch pan.