No-Knead Focaccia

Ingredients

• 4 cups Bread flour
• 2 tsp Instant yeast
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp Honey
• 8 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 sprigs Fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• 1 cup Cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
• ⅜ cup Kalamata olives, torn (optional)

Method

1. Whisk the flour, yeast and salt. Add the honey and 2 cups of cool water and stir with a spatula until there is no dry flour left. It will look like a shaggy paste — that is right, and there is no kneading.
2. Cover and refrigerate 12-24 hours. The long cold rise is what builds the flavor and the open holes; a two-hour rise gives you a decent bread and not this one.
3. Pour 4 tablespoons of the oil into the pan. Tip the dough in, turn it once to coat, and fold it over itself four times. Cover and leave at room temperature 2-4 hours until it is puffy and fills the pan.
4. Heat the oven to 450°F. Oil your fingers with 2 more tablespoons and press straight down through the dough to the pan bottom, all over. Those dimples are what hold the oil.
5. Scatter the rosemary and any toppings, drizzle the last oil, and sprinkle with flaky salt.
6. Bake 22-28 minutes until deep golden all over, including the underside. Lift it out of the pan immediately onto a rack or the bottom steams.

Notes

✨ The restaurant touch

More oil than feels reasonable, in the pan and on top. Focaccia is fried on the bottom as much as baked, and that is the crust everyone remembers.

🧒 For the kids

Dimpling the dough is the best job in baking and children are better at it than adults.

🥡 Leftovers

Best the day it is baked. Day two, split and toast it. Freezes well cut into squares.

Per serving

Computed from USDA FoodData Central values. A planning tool, not medical advice.