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!
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). If you’d like to learn more about hydration and the science of bread making, I go into more depth about hydration levels in my pre-recorded, Basic Sourdough Class.
Since focaccia is a high hydrated dough, the type of flour you use will yield very different results…
Ingredients for 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.
- FLOUR RESOURCES: Here are a few brands of flour I like to use. (Click on the names for the links) I really like Central Milling Hi-Protein Bread Flour, their regular Bread Flour (more of an all-purpose bread flour) will work great too. If you’d like to incorporate a bit of type 00 flour into your focaccia, you can use something like the Central Milling Pizza Flour or the Italian Caputo 00 flour. King Arthur Bread Flour is also a great option too. When shopping for bread flours, look for unbleached flour with at least a protein content of 12%…the higher the better.
- 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. I prefer to use Redmond’s Real Salt for this – I love the flavor, and that I love that it contains trace minerals and is not chemically treated. 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”, like this one I found on Amazon. I do also use the California Olive Ranch brand as well and like it very much. A local mill here in Arizona, produces out-of-this world delicious olive oils! Queen Creek Olive Mill has a Balanced Extra Virgin Olive Oil that would be perfect for oiling your pan with. They also have this incredible Delicate Extra Virgin Olive Oil for dipping! It has a rich, buttery flavor!
- 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. I also have a pre-recorded, Sourdough Focaccia Class you can take online – sourdough focaccia is my absolute favorite!
Suggested equipment
You can make focaccia with very few pieces of equipment: 2 large bowls, a half sheet baking sheet (13×18-inches), and a wire cooling rack. However, I love to make things easier for you, so here a few extra things I use that makes baking homemade focaccia easy! (click on the item in bold for a link)
- Food scale: Weighing your ingredients instead of measuring them by volume will give you the most reliable results in baking and especially in bread making!
- Plastic Bowl Scraper: These are perfect for scraping wet dough off the sides of your mixing bowl – allowing you to make sure all of the ingredients get incorporated. Plus it makes cleaning much easier!
- Danish Dough Whisk: (this option also includes a plastic bowl scraper!) These spiral shaped whisks are perfect for mixing wet bread dough!
- Food Prep Containers with lids: You will LOVE using these for rising and storing your dough in the refrigerator! They are clear, so you can see the progression of your dough. The lid keeps the dough from drying out and it so convenient in the fridge for stacking.
- Baking Sheet Dome Lids: You will love these lids! Easily cover your dough without having to mess with plastic wrap that sticks to itself and to your dough! I use these a lot for other baking projects too!
- Large Metal Spatula: This extra long spatula is perfect for loosening up the focaccia from the sides of the baking sheet. Since it’s long and sturdy, it also helps to release the bread and slide it off the pan with ease!
Again, these items are not required, but make the process much easier!
Watch my step-by-step video
For extra help, click How to make Easy Overnight Focaccia to watch a short video of me walking you through this recipe!
How to make 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.
Can I swap out the yeast for sourdough?
If you are a sourdough baker, you’re probably wondering, if this recipe can be made with sourdough starter. Well yes, it absolutely can! In fact, sourdough focaccia is one of my most favorite recipes of all time!
I have included instructions to swap out the instant yeast for sourdough starter in the recipe notes. These instructions are based on using a 100% hydrated starter. Remember, when using sourdough starter instead of commercial instant yeast, your rise times will be longer (but that makes for an even better flavor!)
If you need more sourdough guidance, I have a pre-recorded Sourdough Focaccia Class HERE. It’s perfect for visual learners! I also have a Basic Sourdough Class HERE if you want to learn the basics of making sourdough bread, including creating your own sourdough starter!
Other recipes you’ll love
The Best Homemade White Sandwich Bread
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Easy Overnight Focaccia
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups plus 2 Tablespoons warm water 90°F/32°C
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast* (see notes)
- 7 cups bread flour
- 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 Tablespoons sea salt flakes to taste
- Optional: 1-2 Tablespoons dried rosemary to taste
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.
- 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. Dough will rise to double in size.
- 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.
- 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.
- Bake 18-24 minutes or until golden brown.
- Brush the top of the focaccia with 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil.
- Remove focaccia from the pan with a large spatula and slide onto a wire cooling rack. 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.
Notes
- *You can use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. If using active dry yeast, increase the amount to 2 & 1/4 teaspoons (or 1 packet). Add yeast to the water first and let it sit for 10 minutes until it bubbles. Add to the rest of the recipe.
- To swap out the instant yeast for sourdough starter: 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.
- 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 2 hours. Then shape, rise and bake as directed in the recipe.
Nutrition
I’m so excited to make this focaccia bread. Doing it tomorrow.
Hi, I am very excited to try this recipe..did so tonight, but found that the dough looked more wet than yours in the video, I almost threw out the dough but decided to put it in the bowl, and try it anyway…let it rise for 30 min and it is now in the fridge until tomorrow…will let you know if it turns out.
I’m curious to hear how it turned out. Many factors can play into how your bread turns out…flour type (how high the protein content is), water temperature, ambient temperature, rising time. Keep at it. The more you practice, the better you’ll get at understanding your dough.
Hi Heather,
Thanks for this. I just made the dough and will be putting it in the fridge as soon as that first rise is done. My question is: Would you recommend freezing the focaccia after it is cooked to preserve the freshness or is that not a good idea?
Thanks again!
JB
I would not suggest freezing the focaccia. It’s really best enjoyed the same day. A good option would be to keep the dough in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake and enjoy it. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before baking.
OK, thank you! One more question: My focaccia did not rise like yours. It was a bit thin in some places, but even the thickest parts seemed only to be half as think as in your video. Do you know what would have limited its spring height? Should I leave it sit out longer before baking? Thanks!
Yes, I would let it rise a bit longer. You want it to rise to at least the height of the baking sheet. Rise times can vary – colder temperatures cause it to rise slower. Conversely, warmer temperatures will help it rise faster.
What would happen if you didn’t use a half sheet pan and instead used a normal sheet pan? I want to try making this, but I don’t own a half sheet pan.
A half sheet pan is a 13-inch by 18-inch baking sheet pan. That’s the size that this recipe will fit in. You can always cut the recipe in half if you want to use a quarter size sheet pan (which is 13-inches by 9-inches).
This is a wonderful focaccia recipe! I specifically searched for a “same-day” focaccia as it was a last minute idea. I didn’t have time to make the sourdough one I usually do. The focaccia was fabulous! I loved being able to do it in one day. The dough was wonderful to work with. It went over so well that I made another one the next day, as requested! Thank you for this great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!
So yummy!!! This was the easiest bread I’ve ever made and so flavorful! Thanks for including the grams. Makes it so much easier to get the measurement correct. Already can’t wait to make this recipe again!
So glad you loved it!!