Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (2024)

Rosemary focaccia bread! How to make a small batch of focaccia in a quarter sheet pan. Easy focaccia recipe in just 2 hours.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (1)

Hey! Hi. Hi! I've been eating a lot of bread. And I think it's related, but I'm feeling very happy these days.

It's a very good thing. The weather got cold again and so I sat in front of the oven, tore off large pieces of this homemade focaccia, and dunked it in excessive amounts of peppery olive oil. My fingers are greasy, but my belly is full. I love being well-fed.

I put a call outon instagrama few weeks agoasking forrecipe requests. After scanning the list several times (thank you guys so much), and noticed an overwhelming number of requests for small batch yeast breads.

Baking bread is one of my favorite things to do with a spare few hours in the kitchen. Working with yeast brings me joy. (Have you seen my small-batch cinnamon rolls?) It's magic in the kitchen! I'm so happy to tackle this request for you guys. There are quite a few breads on my list to make, but I wanted to start with something easy.

Something quick. Minimal effort, maximum reward. You know how I roll.

This is also how I roll:

Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (2)

Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (3)

Rosemary focaccia bread. You've had it, right? It's a rich dough made with olive oil and covered with herbs, and it's typically not more than 1" high. It's thicker than a flat bread, but not suitable for making a true bread loaf.

After 5 failed recipe attempts, I've decided that the reason focaccia doesn't rise veryhighis due to the copious amounts of olive oil. I also decided that the reason focaccia is so delicious is due to the copious amounts of olive oil.

Rosemary focaccia bread is the BEST sandwich bread, if you ask me. It's light and fluffy, and very easy to bite through. I love eating it simply dunked in olive oil, but I also love to make a salami, brown mustard, marinatedartichoke and pickled carrot sandwich with it (I'm not high maintenance, I swear).

Some people compare focaccia to pizza dough, but this is a comparison I don't understand. Pizza dough is thin and chewy; focaccia is soft and fluffy. If your pizza dough is fluffy, I don't think you're making pizza dough correctly. But that's just me. I think the comparison is referring to the Italian roots of both doughs.

Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (4)

Rosemary is traditional on top of focaccia dough, and I have a heavy hand with it. I used the older, woodier tips of my rosemary plants, and I mention that because if you use young, tender rosemary leaves, it hasa tendency to stain your dough green. No big deal, really, but I don't like explaining to dinner guests why I'm serving green bread. I already have to explain so manythings, like why my child eats all of the food on her plate and then begs for yours too. And how is it possible that a child of her size puts away so much sauerkraut. Oh, and did I notice my baby has quite a large belly and is looking rather chunky today? Yes yes, and that's just how I like my babes.

We've strayed off course. Rosemary focaccia bread made in a quarter sheet pan (<--link to the one I use) for a smaller serving size. That's what you're here for today, correct?

Rosemary focaccia bread recipe notes:

  1. A quarter sheet pan sounds super fancy. It's not. It's basically half of a normal-sized sheet pan. If you don't have one, you can absolutely make this breadwith a regularsheet pan, but know that it will spread a bit more. Keep an eye on the edges while it bakes.
  2. Olive oil. Be generous and loving with it. Pour it in the dough, pour it liberally on the pan, and then lovingly brush it again when it comes out of the oven. It's the key here.
  3. Please make sure your yeast is fresh and alive. Wait a full 15 minutes to make sure it blooms in the warm water. If its alive, it will be very noticeablyfoamy. The most common failure with yeast bread is using water that is too hot, which kills the yeast. Don't be a murderer. Use slightly warm, not hot, water.
  4. I call for ½ cup of olive oil, which is 8 tablespoons total. You'll use ¼ cup in the actual dough, and then divide the remaining ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) between the pan and the top of the dough before baking. Easy, right?
  5. Can you double this recipe and make more? Honestly, guys, I have no idea. I spend my life scaling down recipes, so I don't turn around and then scale them back up. That would probably landme in the crazy house, you know? This recipe makes 9 generous pieces. Enough for 4 sandwiches (and a snack for the cook!)

I love you, and can't wait until our next yeast bread adventure!

Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (5)

This focaccia would be awesome with artichokes and olive on top, too! If you love artichokes and olives, you've got to make my Mediterranean Pasta. This focaccia is a great side dish for it, also.

Yield: 9 pieces

Small Batch Focaccia

Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (6)

Homemade focaccia bread with rosemary--small batch bread recipe.

Prep Time2 hours 15 minutes

Cook Time20 minutes

Total Time2 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup barely warm water (105-110°F is ideal)
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling on top
  • ½ cup olive oil, divided use
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary

Instructions

  1. Place the warm water in a small bowl, and sprinkle the yeast and sugar on top. Stir to dissolve, and let sit for 15 minutes. At the end of 15 minutes, it should be very foamy and noticeably alive. It may even bubble as you stare at it!
  2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a mini stand mixer*, add the flour, salt, and half of the olive oil (¼ cup). Fit the dough hook attachment into the mixer, and turn it on briefly to mix the ingredients together.
  3. Pour the foamy yeast water into the flour mixture. Turn the mixer to medium and knead for 5 minutes. Stop and scrape the dough down every minute or so.
  4. At the end of 5 minutes, the dough may be slightly sticky, but that's fine.
  5. Flour a surface, and knead the dough for about 30 seconds--the stickiness will completely disappear.
  6. Grease a small bowl, and place the dough inside. Let rest in a warm place until it doubles in size, about an hour in my cold, drafty house by the oven.
  7. Pour two tablespoons of the remaining olive oil on a quarter sheet pan (measures 9 x 13 x 1"), and spread it evenly. Add the dough to the pan, and use your fingers to spread it to the corners of the pan. Try not to make too many holes, but some are okay.
  8. Brush the final 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top of the dough, and place in a warm place to rise again until doubles, about 1 hour again.
  9. Preheat the oven to 425.
  10. Sprinkle the rosemary on top of the dough, and sprinkle additional salt (coarse is fun here) on top.
  11. Bake the bread for 18-21 minutes, until it starts to turn a light golden brown.
  12. Immediately after baking, flip the bread onto a cooling rack (do not let it cool in the pan). Let it cool completely before slicing and serving.

Notes

*To make this without a stand mixer, knead by hand for 10 minutes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 177Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 178mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g

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Rosemary Focaccia Bread (small batch recipe) - Dessert for Two (2024)

FAQs

What are the two types of focaccia? ›

Venetian focaccia is sweet, baked for Easter and resembles the traditional Christmas cake panettone. Sugar and butter are used instead of olive oil and salt. Focaccia barese, which is common in Puglia in southern Italy, is made with durum wheat flour and topped with salt, rosemary, tomatoes or olives.

Is it better to use bread flour or all purpose flour for focaccia? ›

Bread flour is slightly higher in protein than All-purpose, so gives the focaccia just a little more chew. I love the mix of both, but just AP flour works just fine too! See FAQ for using only AP flour in the recipe if that is what you have. Yeast - I used instant yeast in this recipe.

How do you eat rosemary focaccia? ›

Add fresh rosemary, and roasted garlic then pop it in the oven. Once it's ready slice the focaccia in half and use it for sandwiches, cut strips and dip it into your favorite brothy poached eggs, braised chicken, soup, or stew, or enjoy it on its own.

What type of flour is best for focaccia? ›

Focaccia made with high-protein bread flour produces the best results, but all-purpose flour will work as well.

Is focaccia bread unhealthy? ›

Benefits for your figure and your health

Rather, focaccia provides complex carbohydrates that slowly give the body energy and help better regulate blood sugar levels,” Schirò explains. If it's made with whole wheat flour then it's got an extra edge. “It provides a greater amount of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Why is focaccia expensive? ›

So why does it tend to be more expensive to purchase? Friends who have worked in the restaurant industry had some thoughts: Focaccia requires a lot of olive oil, which is pricey (though some other breads call for butter and eggs, which pencil out to more in my own Kirkland-brand-olive-oil kitchen).

What to put on focaccia before baking? ›

Add toppings: A simple blend of fresh garlic, rosemary, thyme, and basil is a favorite, but I have plenty of focaccia topping suggestions listed below. No matter which topping you use, drizzle olive oil all over the surface. Bake: Bake until golden brown.

Can I leave focaccia dough out overnight? ›

("Overnight" is baker for 8-12 hours). After an overnight rest at room temperature, the focaccia dough will have spread out into the corners of the pan. It will look airy and bubbly and should jiggle slightly when you shake the pan.

Can you overproof focaccia? ›

Can you overproof focaccia dough? You can definitely overproof focaccia, but it is difficult. There is so much oil in the dough, and very little sugar, so the yeast is "sleepy" or slow due to both of those elements and less likely to overproof.

Why do Italians eat focaccia? ›

But though pizza can stand in for a meal, focaccia is more of a snack, or at most an appetizer. In Italy, it's a popular walking-around food. Also, though cold pizza may have a certain raffish charm, focaccia really needs to be eaten when it's hot to be at its best.

Why does my rosemary look burnt? ›

So a brown rosemary may also indirectly be the result of a lack of nutrients. If indeed the case of browning is related to overwatering, the result is that the root system shrinks, leading to brown foliage. Underwatering can also cause brown foliage.

How do you save browning rosemary? ›

Provide a diluted dose of liquid kelp or seaweed to help the plant recover. Prune away any dead or damaged foliage. Only water rosemary when the upper few inches of soil have completely dried out. Locate the rosemary in a warm, sunny area.

Will dry rosemary burn in the oven? ›

Drying rosemary in the oven is the quickest and 'next best option' to using a dehydrator when you want to dry herbs quickly. Tough oven-drying rosemary is quick, though, it does run the risk of 'burning' the herbs – so it should be done with caution.

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