The Easiest Tuscan Focaccia Recipe

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Impress your friends and family with this simple and delicious Tuscan focaccia recipe. With just a few basic ingredients and easy steps, you'll have a flavorful and soft bread perfect for any occasion.

Tuscan focaccia bread on a wood cutting board with a square cut out and on its side.

This light and airy Italian bread reminds me of my time in Tuscany and all of the amazing bread and olive oil that you sample at the vineyards in the region. Wine, bread, and olive oil are staples of Tuscan cooking and they are just some of the reasons I love this region so much.

This recipe is my favorite version of this bread and one I have honed over the years to produce a beautiful loaf that is the most similar to what I had when I was in Italy.

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does and that it becomes a staple in your cooking routine. Buon appetito!

What Is Tuscan Focaccia Bread

Tuscan focaccia is a traditional Italian bread that is known for its light and airy texture, as well as its delicious flavor. It is typically made with simple ingredients such as flour, yeast, water, salt, olive oil, and sometimes herbs.

One of the main characteristics of Tuscan focaccia, or any focaccia, is the dimpled surface that is created by pressing your fingers into the dough before baking. This not only gives the bread its classic appearance but also helps to create pockets of air within the bread, resulting in a light and fluffy texture.

It is different from schiacciata (another Tuscan focaccia) which requires more work and usually a sour dough starter and more rising time to make it. That one is really good too but not as easy as this recipe. This recipe is a very easy everyday bread that you will find in many Italian homes.

Tuscan focaccia should not be too thick or too thin and will always have a nice soft crumb and a golden crust coated in olive oil. It can be enjoyed on its own as a snack, sandwich bread, as a base for pizza toppings, and an appetizer. It also makes a great accompaniment to soups, salads, or pasta dishes.

Ingredients And Substitutions

Tuscan focaccia brea ingredients including: all-purpose flour, instant yeast, olive oil, kosher salt, water, milk and rosemary.

All-Purpose Flour
Instant Yeast: This is yeast labeled rapid rise and very important that you use this type since this bread does not proof overnight.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Kosher salt.
Whole milk: This is for the dough and I highly recommend not using low-fat or fat-free since it can affect the moisture of the bread. If you cannot drink milk, just substitute with water and an extra tablespoon of olive oil in the dough.
Fresh rosemary: This is optional and not necessary but my family always enjoys this sprinkled over the top.

How To Make Tuscan Focaccia

Tuscan focaccia bread preparation from mixing the ingredients to kneading the dough and letting it rest for 3 hours.

Combine wet ingredients: Combine the water, milk and yeast and let sit for 10 minutes.
Combine dry ingredients: In a separate large bowl, add the flour and salt then mix well.
Mix wet and dry ingredients together: Combine the wet and dry ingredients along with the olive oil and with a wooden spoon or large spoon, mix well.
Knead: Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it by hand for 5 minutes. You can also use a stand mixer and a dough hook for this part but the kneading is very easy.
Rest: For a ball with the dough and place it back into the large bowl let the dough rest for 3-4 hours.

Tuscan focaccia bread preparation from pressing the dough into a prepared oiled pan, making dimples in the top of the dough, adding olive oil, rosemary and salt to the top then baking until golden brown.

Press out the dough and rest again: Coat a 9x11 baking dish with olive oil, punch down the dough then place it in the baking dish and press it out to fill the baking dish (like a rectangle) and rest the dough for another 20 minutes.
Prepare Focaccia for baking: Press dimples into the top of the focaccia with your fingertips then drizzle with some olive oil, salt, and rosemary (if using it).
Bake: Place in a preheated 425-degree oven on the middle rack for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Variations

This is a classic preparation of Tuscan focaccia bread. You can change it up to suit your taste and to keep with what Italian cooking is all about 🙂

Here are some ideas that can be found throughout Italy:

Use olives for the topping: Whole black or green olives work wonderfully.
Use sea salt or flake salt for the top:
Slice tomatoes and place them on top before baking for a more Southern Italian style of Foccacia.
Add some sauteed onions or garlic to the top before baking.
Top with grapes before baking like they do in Italy during grape season.

Recipe Faqs

What is the best way to store focaccia bread?

Focaccia is best stored wrapped very well in either plastic wrap or another food-safe wrap and stored on the counter to retain its soft inner texture.

What is the difference between Tuscan focaccia and Tuscan schiacciata?

Schiacciata is a type of Focaccia bread of the Tuscan region that is referred to as a sour bread and it is lighter and airer in texture than other focaccia bread. Everyday Tuscan focaccia is a traditional focaccia bread that is a little denser and easier to make.

Should focaccia be thin or thick?

Depending on the type of focaccia you make, this bread can be very thick and airy with lots of large bubbles, or only somewhat thick with a finer crumb. Tuscan focaccia is a somewhat thick (medium thick) type of focaccia with a softer crumb.

More Italian Bread Ideas!