No-Knead Tomato Focaccia
Easy No-Knead dough with an amazing olive oil-soaked crisp crust. Topped with fresh tomatoes and herbs.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (400 g)
- 1 3/4 tsp kosher salt (13 g)
- 1/2 tsp yeast (3 g)
- 1 1/2 cups water (350 g)
- 6-10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- pinch Italian seasoning blend dried basil and oregano
- fresh basil garnish
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, add flour, kosher salt, and yeast. Whisk together.
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Add water. Mix just until all of the flour has combined with the water. The dough will look like a shaggy mess. That’s ok.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12 – 18 hours on the countertop. DO NOT REFRIGERATE. This is not optional. It takes that much time to proof the dough. The reason why you need a large bowl is that the dough will start to rise.
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After 12 hours the dough will look like this. It’s pretty sticky, but that’s ok it’s supposed to be.
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Add olive oil to the skillet. Swirl to completely coat the bottom of the pan. Using a dough scraper, release the dough into the olive oil.
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Oil your fingertips and gently lift the dough and stretch to the edge of the pan. Press fingertips into the dough to create several dimples all over the surface. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and set aside for 2 hours to rise.
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Preheat oven to 450 ℉. When the dough has risen and signs of bubbles appear on the surface, oil fingers and gently create dimples in the dough. Carefully arrange and press the sliced tomatoes into the dough. Sprinkle with a couple of pinches of dried herbs and coarse flakey salt.
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Cover the skillet with a pizza pan or foil that is crimped around the skillet. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove lid/pan or foil then bake another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
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Remove from the oven and gently lift focaccia onto a cooling rack. If olive oil remains in the skillet, pour excess over the top of the baked focaccia.
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It's best to cool focaccia completely before slicing. However, It is delicious hot! Top with fresh basil before serving.
Recipe Notes
TIPS:
- It's best to let the focaccia cool before slicing. This will help the focaccia or any no-knead dough bread NOT be dense and rubbery. However, it is so hard to wait for the focaccia to cool because it will just smell so delicious that your mouth will be watering. Go ahead cut a wedge for yourself and savor the crispy crust just be careful not to burn your mouth on those hot tomatoes!
- The flavor of the olive oil you use is key to the flavor of your bread. Make sure it's an olive oil you love.
- Don't overwork the dough. Keep a light, gentle touch.
- This is a simple recipe. Don't complicate it. You shouldn't put more than 20 minutes of effort into this creation...seriously!
- I suggest using a scale to measure ingredients because it is more precise. Using cup measuring is less accurate because everyone scoops the flour differently and each measuring cup isn't exactly the same size. A good kitchen scale is a good investment...actually, a cheap kitchen scale is a good investment.
- If you are not sure your focaccia is baked completely on the inside, check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. The internal temp should be 190-200℉
- Don't overthink no-knead dough. It's easy and simple. Don't complicate the recipe.