Rosemary and Olive No Knead Focaccia Bread with paper thin slices of Meyer lemon is an easy yeast bread you’ll come back to again and again. With only a quick hand mixing and 40 minutes to rise, you can have it on the table, (or in your mouth!) in just over an hour.
Reader Rave ~
“Thanks for sharing this recipe!! It is so quick & easy to make.
We loved the focaccia bread & the dough was also really great for making pizza!” ~Teresa
This no knead focaccia (“foh-KA-cha”) bread recipe is near and dear to my heart,
It’s one of the first yeast breads I learned to make, and is still a favorite because it’s simple and foolproof. Sometimes I make it plain, sometimes just with the rosemary and salt…I’ve topped it with everything from pine nuts to cherry tomatoes, and I’m still experimenting after so many years. Make it once and it’ll become a family institution…my kids used to beg for rosemary bread like it was candy.
Who doesn’t crave homemade bread?
The smell alone drives me nuts. It’s so frustrating that most of us don’t get the chance to experience that thrill much anymore, but guess what ~ with this quick and easy focaccia recipe you can reconnect with your inner baker any time you want.
What you’ll need for this no knead focaccia bread:
- a packet of yeast ~ I like to use instant yeast, it’s super quick to rise, but regular is fine too.
- flour ~ I usually use all purpose flour, but you can also use bread flour.
- salt
- olive oil
- salt
- fresh rosemary
- Meyer lemon ~ you can use a thin skinned regular lemon if you like.
- olives ~ black and pitted.
Easy no knead method:
After you’ve mixed the shaggy dough together, you’ll let it rise for about 40 minutes.
Punch it down and then pat it out onto an oiled baking sheet, it will be sticky.
Use your fingers dipped in olive oil to make little dimples all over the surface of the dough. These will hold little pools of olive oil that will bake up into the characteristic crunchy and flavorful crust.
Topped the dough with the flavorful goodies.
Pop it into a hot (425F) oven for about 20 minutes. Yum. The combination of flavors and that wonderful crusty texture is pretty great. I especially love the burst of citrus when I bite into one of those lemon bits.
Yes, you can eat the whole lemon slices!
Be sure to slice your lemon paper thin, and remove any seeds. I like to use my mandoline slicer for the job.
Meyer lemons are awesome, so grab them when you see them, you won’t be sorry. They’re smaller, sweeter, and thinner skinned than regular lemons, from China originally, as a cross between a lemon and either a mandarin orange or a common orange, nobody knows for sure. What is for sure is that these lemons are incredibly delicious.
Where’s the best place to let my dough rise?
The ideal temperature for bread dough to rise, not surprisingly, is at body temperature, about 98.6F ~ yeast is a living organism, after all. Dough will rise at a variety of temperatures, even in the refrigerator, but it will be a much slower process. Here are some good spots for rising dough~
- in an appliance like a proofing box, or an Instant Pot that can maintain a specific temperature. The yogurt setting (on ‘low’) works perfectly in the Instant Pot.
- in front of a sunny window where the sunbeams can shine right on the covered dough.
- in an oven that’s been heated to 150F, then turned off.
- in an oven with the oven light on. Some people like to add a 9×13 pan half full of boiling water to the bottom shelf.
- in a microwave where you’ve boiled water for several minutes just before putting your dough inside.
- in a warm spot in the basement near a furnace.
- on top of a running dryer ~ I used to put my youngest daughter there when she was a baby to get her to sleep ๐
- under your down comforter ~ it works!
- overnight in the refrigerator. Bring it back to room temperature before proceeding.
Reader Rave ~
“This was fantastic! I tried it with 1 cup whole wheat flour, the rest bread flour, and I made the dough and let it rise in my bread machine.โ ~ Cheryl
Rosemary and Olive No Knead Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tsp (one packet or 1/4 ounce) dry yeast, make sure it's fresh!
- 2 cups warm water, (105-110F)
- 2 tsp table salt
- 4 cups all-purpose or bread flour, I usually use all-purpose
- extra virgin olive oil, about 1/4 cup plus extra for oiling the bowl and baking pan
- fresh rosemary leaves, approximately 4 Tbsp
- 1 Meyer lemon, sliced paper thin, seeds removed
- 1/2 cup pitted oil cured, Kalamata, or other flavorful black olives, not the kind in the can.
- kosher or sea salt for sprinkling over the top
Instructions
- Mix the yeast and the warm water in a large bowl. Stir in the salt and 2 cups of the flour and mix into a soft sticky dough.
- Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix well, the dough will still be somewhat sticky and shaggy.
- Oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough to the oiled bowl. Cover with plastic and let sit in a warm spot for 40 minutes. I put mine in my Instant Pot that I had preheated on the Yogurt setting. Your kitchen counter will typically not be warm enough for rising dough, see notes above for suggestions)
- Set the oven to 425F
- Turn the risen dough out onto an oiled baking sheet. Press it out gently with floured fingers into a rectangle, about 10x15, approximately.
- Using your fingers, dip them into the olive oil and then make little dimples all over the dough. The oil will pool in the little indentations. Don't skimp here, that oil will flavor the dough and give it great texture as it bakes, too.
- Top with the sliced lemons, rosemary leaves, and olives, pushing them into the dough just gently. Dab a little more olive oil on top if you think you don't have enough. Shower lightly with sea salt.
- Make sure your oven is at the correct temperature, and bake for about 20-22 minutes, until the bread is just golden. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through if the bread is baking unevenly.
- Let cool slightly before slicing and devouring.
notes and variations
ย
- This bread is easy to make your own, there are lots of different toppings to try, so experiment with what you like.
- You can mix dried herbs right into the dough for an herb bread.
- Try this with half whole wheat flour for a nutrition boost.
- If you don't have Meyer lemons you can use regular lemons if you can get small, thin skinned ones.ย Thicker skinned lemons will be too bitter.
Nutrition
55 Comments
Mickey
February 20, 2021 at 5:21 pmcut the pith off of a thicker skinned lemon. no skin.
s
February 7, 2021 at 2:20 pmHeads up to those changing the #servings before printing. The recipe changes the ingredient amounts but NOT the recipe so the instructions are inconsistent with the amount of ingredients. I had forgotten that I had changed the #servings and added way too much flour.
Sue Moran
February 7, 2021 at 4:03 pmI’m not at all happy with the automatic servings changer, I’m thinking of disabling it, it’s too confusing. Sorry you had trouble with it S.
Alicia
February 2, 2021 at 9:09 amI have a question. Could I bake this without the olives and lemons and slice it horizontally to make panini? Thanks for your help.
Sue Moran
February 2, 2021 at 9:52 amYes, but the way I make it it’s pretty thin. You might want to shape it a little thicker if you plan to slice it horizontally.
Alicia
February 2, 2021 at 12:50 pmWill do! Can’t wait to try this! Love panini but can’t buy it around here. Thanks!
Mary
February 2, 2021 at 8:53 amHi there. Recipe looks amazing. Canโt wIt to bake some. Iโve been baking with sourdough starter could I use perhaps half to one cup of starter and remaining ingredients instead of yeast. Thank you.
Darlene
January 12, 2021 at 12:57 amThe dough is superb! At first I was worried because it was so sticky! I used lava salt I got in Iceland and it gave it an exotic flavor! I totally changed the toppings… chicken sausage, mushrooms, red onion, mozzarella and green apple. My husband said it was the best pizza he ever ate. Thanks for the great recipe and for your blog. I will definitely make again!
Kathi Gehrts
January 8, 2021 at 3:40 pmIโve made this twice and am still working toward perfection. I hope I donโt reach that goal! ? I have made one minor modification to the recipe and that was to leave off the Meyer lemons. Trust me I will eventually incorporate them into the recipe but I just love Rosemary and Kalamata olives and thatโs what I was craving. Itโs been a hit with family and so easy to make. Thank you Sue!
monika
January 1, 2021 at 1:36 pmThank you! Super easy and so tasty.
Chris
October 19, 2020 at 5:39 pmHi Sue, I am new to your blog. I made this focaccia this evening and served it with soup and it was absolutely FANTASTIC! So easy and quick, with excellent results.
I am now a faithful follower. Thanks!!
Sue
October 19, 2020 at 5:56 pmI’m so glad Chris, now you can have fun changing it up!
Karyn Collier
October 3, 2020 at 4:16 pmSue, this looks lovely and I will try it the next time I make soup. My kitchen doesn’t really have a nice, warm space, so I use my heating pad on the low setting for raising yeast breads. Works like a charm!
Sue
October 3, 2020 at 5:35 pmLove the heating pad trick!
PatLa
July 23, 2020 at 7:53 pmMy rendition turned out beautifully and got rave reviews. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
PatLa
July 23, 2020 at 10:35 amGreat pics and explanations!
My dough is rising in the microwave as I write this, but Iโm too excited to wait. We have friends coming over with Crab Louie and they love my homemade focaccia bread, but I wanted to up the presentation today. Kalmatta olives (his fav) and lemon will pair perfectly with the seafood, and it looks gorgeous.
Thanks for the great idea.
Shruti
May 21, 2020 at 8:50 amHi, itโs a beautiful recipe.
Can we bake the entire process in instant pot… rather than oven?
Sue
May 21, 2020 at 8:52 amI’ve never baked bread in the Instant Pot, so I’m not sure how that would work, but if you’ve done it successfully, then I’d give it a go.
Catherine Fraga
May 2, 2020 at 10:50 amHi Sue, I am a little confused about how much yeast to use. You write: 2 tsp. one packet.
Is that 2 tsp and one full packet, or 2 tsp. from a packet, or…: ๐
Sue
May 2, 2020 at 7:06 pmMy new recipe app stripped out all my parentheses…sheesh!
Bridget
February 3, 2019 at 3:30 pmDonโt know if addressed by others using instapots – Iโm new to using them but liked the idea – dough should be placed in a bowl that will fit into the instapot. I put the dough directly into the pots stainless steel insert. I lost half of my dough because the bottom started to cook. Lesson learned. My pot does not have a yogurt setting. I checked my manual and had it on the keep warm setting, which is what it recommends for yogurt
Any other thought to keep this from happening?
.
Sue
February 3, 2019 at 3:32 pmYou might even put a rag under the bowl so there’s more insulation Bridget.
Cheryl
January 30, 2019 at 5:55 pmThis was fantastic! I tried it with 1 cup whole wheat flour, the rest bread flour, and I made the dough and let it rise in my bread machine.
Sue
January 30, 2019 at 8:15 pmThanks Cheryl, I glad it was a success!
Nancy S Haugen
December 21, 2018 at 1:34 pmHow exactly do you use the instant pot? I see no way to preheat on “yougart” on low pressure. Can you step by step the process for me? Really want to make your focaccia.
Sue
January 22, 2019 at 7:56 amMy machine has a yogurt setting Nancy, but some of the earlier ones don’t.
charm
September 6, 2018 at 9:12 amdo you proof the yeast in warm water for a period of time before adding the flour and salt?
Sue
September 6, 2018 at 9:41 amI don’t for this recipe Charm, I just add it right in and proceed.
Sparks
May 19, 2018 at 9:50 pmOur freezer is a smaller upright, only 5’6″ tall. It’s always warm up on top, coils I guess, so that’s where I put my bread bowl for the rise. Works a charm.
Going to try this. If my DH can’t get over lemon slices on bread, that’s more for me!
Sue
May 20, 2018 at 6:59 amEnjoy, Sparks!
teresa
April 20, 2018 at 8:36 amThanks for sharing this recipe!! It is so quick & easy to make.
We loved the focaccia bread & the dough was also really great for making pizza!
Sue
April 20, 2018 at 8:37 amI’m so glad you liked this Teresa, it’s one of my trusted go-to recipes. I don’t think I’ve tried it for pizza, so thanks for the idea ๐
Tina
March 7, 2018 at 9:36 amDear Sue! Thank you for this recipe. I always love to eat focaccia and this is a great combination of flavours. We all enjoyed it. Best wishes Tina
Sue
March 7, 2018 at 10:30 amGlad you enjoyed it Tina!
Meghan
March 5, 2018 at 1:01 pmOh my goodness, this looks amazing! Sitting here at my office, hungry, and thinking I need to make this as soon as I get home! xo, meghan
Sue
March 5, 2018 at 1:26 pmLuckily it’s quick enough that you can Meghan ๐
Laura | Tutti Dolci
March 1, 2018 at 5:47 pmYou’ve outdone yourself with this focaccia, Sue! Heavenly! ๐
Traci | Vanilla And Bean
February 27, 2018 at 1:52 pmIndeed, an institution! I’m SO with you on bread, in any form. It smells SO incredible. I adore focaccia, but absolutely love the toppings you’ve added here. Those lemons and olives together are brilliant! Delicious Sue and thank you for your excellent tips!
David M. Dunn
February 26, 2018 at 2:44 pmHave you tried making this with rosemary end-user olive oil? I think it would make the flavor pop.
Sue
February 26, 2018 at 3:18 pmI think your auto correct meant ‘infused’? And yes, that would be amazing! I think I’ll make some…
iluminameluna
February 26, 2018 at 11:57 amI’ve been watching bread making vids and also baking all sorts of breads but not foccacia! I think I’ll give this a go tonight!
One question: if I use half whole wheat, should I up the liquid by maybe a quarter cup? Most of the recipes with ww say to do so and it’s also been my experience. The quarter cup is what I’ve found works for 2 cups of ww, all things climate being equal. Sometimes it’s q cpl of tbsp less if the climate is very humid.
Thanks for the recipe!
Sue
February 26, 2018 at 1:12 pmIf you’ve been making bread lately this focaccia is going to seem like a breeze to you, I’m sure! Go ahead and up the liquid a little, but the one cup of ww flour won’t make too much of a difference, I don’t think. Maybe see how the dough feels, it should be nice and sticky.
Denise P
February 26, 2018 at 11:12 amThis looks so fantastic! I’m 5 weeks into a complete kitchen redo, and I haven’t been able to bake (or cook) anything in that time. I’m itching to get going again. (Still another 2 weeks to go probably, because of a delay on the cabinets.) This is going to the top of my things-to-bake list.
Sue
February 26, 2018 at 11:50 amI envy you, Denise, even though kitchen re-dos can be inconvenient, just think about the result! Whenever I’m traveling and away from my kitchen for any length of time I can’t wait to get back to it, hope your last 2 weeks flies by ๐
Marsha N.
February 26, 2018 at 9:47 amLooks amazing! What other topping combinations would you recommend?
Sue
February 26, 2018 at 9:58 amI’m planning one with mushrooms and thyme, Marsha. Also artichokes, or bell peppers, marinated or fresh. Jalapenos would be great, too. I’ve done cherry tomatoes, pine nuts…I’m wondering if sausage or another meat would work, that’s still in the experimental stages ๐
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen
February 26, 2018 at 9:45 amI love focaccia Sue, sweet or savory! Love the combo of ingredients here!
Schatzi49
February 26, 2018 at 8:27 amSue, I’m going to try this but without the olives, just can’t eat them. Any suggestions for a replacement? I do have the Meyer lemonds
Sue
February 26, 2018 at 8:45 amI’ve made wonderful focaccia with just the lemons and rosemary, here. It’s basically the same recipe.
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
February 26, 2018 at 5:01 amWhat a beautiful bread and of course, no-knead is always good ๐ A great side for a big bowl of pasta!
Sue
February 26, 2018 at 6:50 amOh gosh, be still my heart ~ it’s actually chilly here in CA today, and I could use a bowl of that pasta!
Chris Scheuer
February 26, 2018 at 4:22 amI’m quite certain that once I started eating this, it would be the whole delicious meal!
Tricia @ Saving Room for Dessert
February 26, 2018 at 4:17 amI could eat my weight in this lovely bread. Olive and rosemary are perfect together and all that lemon! Yum! Sharing and pinning ๐
[email protected]'s Recipes
February 26, 2018 at 4:07 amOne of my favourite Italian classics! Love the lemon slices here..must be very refreshing!
Sue
February 26, 2018 at 6:36 amThey’re like little bursts of sunshine ๐