Homemade Focaccia—Recipe, Temperatures, and Tips
Focaccia is the bread you need to be making right now. The “daily bread” of thousands of Italians, it has been making fast inroads into American culture thanks to beautiful and inspiring posts all over social media. But how can you be sure your focaccia turns out sandwich-perfect every time? With temperature, of course! Follow our temp tips below for perfect focaccia, starting with your first batch.
What is focaccia?
Focaccia is an Italian yeasted flatbread, often of high hydration, that is cooked in a pan. Its name comes from the fact that in Roman times it was cooked in the embers of the hearth, which is called focus in Latin. Focaccia is the bread baked in the focus. The bread from southern France, fougasse, shares the same etymology and often the same simplicity of recipe, but is often baked free-form on a stone, not in a pan.
Focaccia is a lean-dough bread—there is almost no sugar in it and there is no fat in the dough to enrich it. That means that it is done cooking between 190 and 210°F (88 and 99°C). (Yes, bread—even focaccia—has doneness temps, and no, you’re not figuring out if this bread is done by thumping it on its bottom, nor should you go by color alone. Use your Thermapen ONE to check the doneness of the bread in its center to be sure that the middle isn’t still doughy.)
If you’re thinking to yourself that there’s no way focaccia is a lean-dough bread, I was right there with you. After all, one of the key characteristics of focaccia as we see it now is a solid drenching of olive oil. But in fact, the bread has no oil added in its dough stage, making it lean. And that is evident in the way focaccia is used in Italy, where it is a daily bread, made fresh for the day, and eaten on the day. It doesn’t keep well, staling quickly. But if you eat it fresh on baking day? It’s wonderful!
But … the olive oil?
Though the dough is lean, the bread itself practically swims in olive oil. It is doused in it as it rises, oil goes in the pan before the dough does, and the top of the bread is dimpled and generously swathed in more olive oil before baking. The results are incredible. The edges are crisp—literally fried in oil—and the top has crunch but won’t cut the roof of your mouth. The overall impression is one of tenderness, of kind yielding, of a deep-fried cloud upon which you can build your best sandwich. Some oil will get into the dough during the folding, but not enough to make this a “rich dough” bread. It’s a lean dough bread disguised as a rich dough.
Other critical temperatures for homemade focaccia
We’ve already discussed doneness temps for focaccia, but there are more places for your thermometer to do its thing, specifically, during the initial dough production. Waking up the yeast so that it is most effective is a thermal matter. Use your Thermapen ONE to make sure the water you use in your dough is 100–105ºF (38-41ºC)—warm enough to activate the yeast, but not hot enough to kill it.
This dough loves a cold overnight ferment, but once you put it in the pan to rise, a nice 85°F (29°C) ambient temperature is best. The final cook is done hot: 450°F (232°C) for 20–30 minutes, depending on its thickness. (Ours took closer to 30.)
This focaccia is absolutely delicious. When we were finished baking it and taking pictures, we didn’t even want to offer any to our coworkers—just a few of us ate the whole thing! It’s soft, fluffy, has a beautiful crumb, and, if you follow the critical temps we’ve noted, sure to come out great. Happy baking!
Homemade Focaccia Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp honey
- 625 g (5 C) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 1/2 C (20 oz) water, at temp
- 8 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 4 Tbsp (2 oz) butter, divided
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, yeast, kosher salt, honey, and warm water, being sure to test the water temp with your Thermapen ONE. It should be between 100 and 105°F (38 and 41°C).
- Mix the ingredients to a shaggy, wet dough. It will seem too loose, but don’t worry about it!
- Pour 4 tbsp of the olive oil into a large bowl.
- Pour/scrape the dough into the bowl with the oil and turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day (or 3–4 hours later, if you’re in a rush) …
- Use 1 Tbsp of the butter to grease well a 9×13″ pan. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to the pan as well.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and uncover it.
- Set the bowl on the counter and use two forks to lift up the far edge of the dough in the bowl, folding it towards yourself. Turn the bowl 90° and repeat, lifting the far edge and pulling it towards you. Repeat until you’ve completed a fold on all four sides.
- Flop the dough and all the oil in its bowl into the prepared pan.
- Let the dough rise, uncovered, at 85°F (29°C) until doubled in size, nice and loose, and somewhat bubbly.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C).
- Dimple the dough all over with your fingers, sprinkle with flaky sea salt, drizzle on the rest of the olive oil, and sprinkle with the leaves from one of the sprigs of rosemary.
- Put the pan in the oven and bake for 20–30 minutes, until the top is a lovely golden and the internal temperature is 190–210°F (88–99°C).
- When your timer sounds, verify the internal temperature with your Thermapen ONE. Continue to cook if the temp is not high enough.
- Remove the pan from the oven.
- Before serving, heat the remaining butter in a small pan with the remaining sprig of rosemary. Infuse the herb until the butter is very fragrant, then discard the sprig and use a silicone brush to brush the butter onto the surface of the bread.
- Cut and serve (perhaps filled with ham, mortadella, prosciutto, arugula, roasted pepper strips, fresh mozz, pesto, and spicy mayo).
The amount of water in the dough is missing from the ingredient list. How much is needed?
Ooops! It’s 2.5 C, 20 oz. I’ve put it in the recipe.
I’m new to bread making and have a question. Can I halve the recipe or would it be permissible to halve the dough the first day and bake the remainder on day 2 ?
You could do that, yes. Before the bulk ferment, cut the dough in half, proceed as planed with half and put the other half in the refrigerator in a covered bowl overnight. It will actually have more flavor than the first half!
The 4th bullet point in the ‘Instructions’ states “Pour/scrape the dough into the bowl with the and turn it over to coat.”. what comes after the word the and before the word and?
I love focaccia and am anxious to try your recipe, but want to make certain I’m doing everything according to the way you did it to minimize any mistakes.
THX in advance.
Michael
“Oil”. Thanks, I fixed it in the post
Recipe says that the dough gets 1 Tbsp of kosher salt ~ is that Diamond Crystal or Morton’s? They are different! I wish that recipe writers would always specify that.
Morton’s! Good point.
I want to make this with half the amount of flour. Can you break down all the rest of the in friends. 5 cups of flour would be way too much for just my husband and I. Thank you.
Yes, it can be halved. Those Tablespoons turn into 1.5 teaspoons, the rest is just division.
What alterations would need to be made if I wanted to use a sourdough starter in lieu of yeast? is this even possible?
Thanks!
To substitute sourdough starter for yeast in the **ThermoWorks Delicious Homemade Sandwich Bread** recipe, you need to account for the flour and water already present in your starter.
Since this is a “hybrid” conversion (turning a commercial yeast recipe into a sourdough one), here is the best way to do it while keeping the texture of a soft sandwich loaf.
1. The Conversion Formula
Most sourdough starters are “100% hydration,” meaning they are equal parts flour and water by weight. To replace the **2 packets of yeast** in this recipe:
* **Use 1 cup (approx. 227g) of active, bubbly sourdough starter.**
* **Reduce the Flour:** Remove **1 cup (120g)** of flour from the recipe.
* **Reduce the Liquid:** Remove **½ cup (113g)** of the water/milk from the recipe.
2. Adjusted Ingredient List
* **Sourdough Starter:** 1 cup (227g) — *fed and active*
* **Flour:** 5 cups (approx. 602g)
* **Milk:** ¾ cup (approx. 170g)
* **Water:** ¾ cup (approx. 170g)
* **Melted Butter:** ½ cup (114g)
* **Sugar:** 4 Tbsp (50g)
* **Salt:** 2-½ tsp
3. Critical Changes to the Process
Because wild yeast (sourdough) is much slower than commercial yeast, you cannot follow the original timeline.
Proofing Time: Instead of the 1–2 hour first rise mentioned in the blog, your sourdough version will likely need **4–6 hours** for the first rise (bulk fermentation) and another **2–4 hours** for the second rise in the pans.
Temperature is Key: The ThermoWorks blog emphasizes **85°F (29°C)** for proofing. This is even more important for sourdough. Using a proofing setting on your oven or a warm spot will help the wild yeast move faster.
The “Float Test”: Before starting, make sure your starter is active. Drop a teaspoon of it in a glass of water; if it floats, it’s ready to bake.
Doneness: Stick to the blog’s thermal advice! Pull the bread when the internal temperature hits **190°F (88°C)** using your Thermapen. Sourdough sandwich bread is denser and needs that full temperature to ensure the middle isn’t gummy.
Summary Tip:
If you want the sourdough flavor but don’t want to wait 8 hours for it to rise, you can use 1 cup of starter PLUS 1 tsp of yeast. This is called “spiking” the dough—you get the sourdough tang with the reliable, fast rise of commercial yeast.