How to Make Focaccia: The Complete Guide

What focaccia actually is, and what makes it work

Focaccia is an oil-enriched Italian flatbread baked in a pan: a wet, well-fermented dough spread thin-to-medium, dimpled all over, drenched in olive oil, salted, and baked hot until the top is golden and the bottom is crisp. Everything that makes it distinctive follows from two decisions — high hydration and generous olive oil — so the whole method below is really just a way of getting a very wet dough to behave and then rewarding it with fat and heat.

High hydration (the weight of water as a percentage of the flour) is what gives focaccia its open, moisture-rich crumb and those big irregular holes. Most home focaccia lives in the 70 to 85 percent range. Wetter dough is stickier and looser to handle, which is why focaccia is folded rather than kneaded and why beginners often start nearer 70 percent. The olive oil does double duty: worked into the pan and dimples it fries the crust from below and crisps the top, while a little in the dough keeps the crumb tender.

You do not need to master theory to bake a good first loaf. The steps below work as written. But knowing that hydration controls the crumb and oil controls the crust makes every later adjustment — a wetter dough, a longer ferment, a hotter oven — feel deliberate rather than random.

The four ingredients (and what each one does)

Flour: reach for bread flour or a strong "00" if you can. The higher protein builds the gluten network that traps gas and holds a wet dough together. All-purpose flour works and makes a slightly softer, less chewy crumb — a fine place to start. This is the ingredient everything else is measured against, so weigh it with a scale rather than scooping cups.

Water: the hydration dial. As a starting point, 75 percent hydration means 750 g of water per 1000 g of flour. Use cool water for a long, slow ferment and warm water (around body temperature) to move a same-day dough along. Warmer dough ferments faster; cooler dough ferments slower and, given time, tastes deeper.

Salt: flavor and structure. Around 2 percent of the flour weight (about 20 g per 1000 g of flour) is standard — enough to season properly and to tighten the gluten slightly. Undersalted focaccia tastes flat no matter how well it is baked. Add flaky salt on top at the end for crunch; that is separate from the salt in the dough.

Yeast: the leavening. A small amount of instant or active dry yeast (often well under 1 percent of the flour weight for a slow ferment) is all you need — time does the rest. Less yeast plus more time equals more flavor. Olive oil is the honorary fifth ingredient: use a good extra-virgin one, because at focaccia quantities you can taste it plainly.

Mixing the dough

Combine the yeast with the water first so it disperses, then add the flour and mix until no dry patches remain — a shaggy, sticky mass is exactly right. Many bakers hold the salt back for a few minutes (an autolyse-style rest lets the flour hydrate and makes mixing easier) and then work it in, but adding everything at once also works for a first loaf. The oil can go in during mixing or be reserved mostly for the pan.

Do not chase a smooth, kneaded ball. Focaccia dough at this hydration should look rough and slack when you finish mixing; the structure comes later from folding and time, not from kneading now. If you are using a stand mixer, a few minutes on low with the paddle or dough hook brings it together — but a bowl and a hand or a sturdy spoon are genuinely enough.

For a fuller walk-through of hydration levels and mixing wet dough by hand, the mixing and hydration guides go deeper than there is room for here.

Folding and bulk fermentation

Instead of kneading, you build strength with a series of stretch-and-folds during the first rise (the bulk ferment). Every 30 to 45 minutes for the first couple of hours, wet your hand, grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over the center; rotate the bowl and repeat three or four times. Three or four rounds of folding transforms a slack puddle into a smooth, jiggly, cohesive dough that holds gas.

Bulk fermentation is finished when the dough has risen noticeably — roughly 50 to 100 percent larger — and looks alive with bubbles, feels airy and domed, and jiggles when you shake the bowl. At warm room temperature this often takes 2 to 4 hours; a cold overnight ferment in the fridge (see below) can run 12 to 48 hours and tastes markedly better. Judge by the look and feel of the dough, not the clock, because kitchen temperature changes everything.

For deeper flavor and easier handling, many bakers do the folds at room temperature and then refrigerate the dough overnight. Cold dough is firmer, less sticky, and more forgiving to spread the next day.

Panning and the final proof

Oil the pan generously — this is not the moment for restraint. A metal pan (a quarter sheet, a cake pan, or a dedicated focaccia pan) with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom is ideal; the oil fries the base to a crisp, savory crust. Tip the dough in, coat the top in oil too, and gently stretch and press it toward the corners. If it springs back and refuses to reach the edges, let it rest 10 to 15 minutes and try again — the gluten needs to relax.

Now the second, final proof: leave the panned dough somewhere warm until it looks pillowy, puffed, and full of bubbles, often 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on temperature and how much yeast you used. Cold-fermented dough takes longer here because it has to warm up. A good readiness test is the poke — a gentle press should leave a dent that springs back slowly and only partway. Under-proofed dough bakes up dense; over-proofed dough can deflate, so aim for jiggly and confident but not collapsing.

Dimpling, oil, and toppings

Dimpling is the signature move and it is functional, not just pretty. Oil your fingertips, then press straight down through the dough to the bottom of the pan all over the surface, spacing the dents an inch or two apart. The dimples anchor the rise, create pools that trap olive oil, and give focaccia its characteristic dappled, craggy top. Be firm but not violent; you want to keep the air you just built.

Drizzle more olive oil over the top so it collects in the dimples, then scatter flaky salt. Simple rosemary and sea salt is the classic finish, but this is where you personalize: cherry tomatoes, thin onion, olives, or nothing at all. A light brine — a spoonful of water whisked into the surface oil — is a traditional trick that helps keep the crumb moist and the top glossy. Keep heavy or moist toppings modest so they do not sink or steam the crust.

Baking and cooling

Bake hot. A preheated oven at 220 to 240 C (425 to 465 F) is the usual window, with the rack in the lower third so the bottom crisps before the top over-browns. Focaccia is done when the top is deeply golden — not pale, not just blond — and the bottom, when you lift a corner with a spatula, is crisp and browned. That typically takes 20 to 30 minutes depending on thickness and oven. If your oven runs hot or uses convection, expect faster browning and a lower effective temperature; the convection guide covers that adjustment.

When it comes out, lift the focaccia out of the pan promptly and onto a rack. Leaving it to sit in the pan traps steam against the bottom and softens the crust you worked to build. Let it cool at least 10 to 15 minutes before cutting so the crumb sets — cutting too soon can make it seem gummy. Focaccia is at its glorious best within a few hours of baking, still slightly warm.

A simple path for your first focaccia

If this all feels like a lot, here is the minimum viable version. Mix 500 g bread flour, 375 g warm water (75 percent), 10 g salt, and about 4 g instant yeast into a shaggy dough. Fold it in the bowl three times, 30 minutes apart. Let it bulk-ferment until roughly doubled and bubbly, then oil a pan well, spread the dough, and let it proof until puffy. Dimple with oiled fingers, drizzle oil, scatter salt and rosemary, and bake at 230 C (450 F) in the lower third until deeply golden, about 22 to 28 minutes. Cool on a rack.

That is a genuinely good loaf, and it is the fastest way to build intuition. Once you have baked it once, the levers become obvious: want more flavor, ferment cold overnight; want a crisper base, more oil and a lower rack; want a taller crumb, wetter dough and a fuller proof. Read one deeper guide per bake rather than all of them at once, and you will improve steadily without overwhelm.

When you are ready for a tested, printable formula, the beginner and classic recipes below give you exact quantities and timings to follow step by step.