Peter Reinhart's Focaccia
Rich and chewy focaccia, made from Peter Reinhart's recipe. Made with a generous amount of olive oil and herbs, it's hard to stop eating!
Servings: 24
Calories: 188kcal
Ingredients
Bread dough
- 5 cups bread flour (22.5 ounces/635 grams)
- 2 teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoon yeast (active or instant)
- 6 tablespoons olive oil (84 grams)
- 2 cups water (454 grams/16 ounces)
Homemade Herb Oil
- ½ cup olive oil (112 grams)
- 4 teaspoons dried herbs (I use oregano and thyme) (see notes for using fresh herbs)
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1-2 cloves minced garlic)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Assembly
- ¼ cup olive oil (56 grams)
- ½ cup herb oil (see instructions above)
Instructions
Day 1/Bread Dough
- Combine flour, salt, yeast, 6 tablespoons olive oil, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the dough hook on low to create a wet, sticky ball.
- Turn the speed up to medium and knead for another 5-7 minutes to create a smooth, sticky dough. A sticky dough will leave dough on your finger when you touch it. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl, but will stick to the bottom. Add more flour if it doesn't clear the sides; add more water if it doesn't stick to the bottom.
- Oil a large, 10-cup container or pan, and scrape the dough into it. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Wet or oil your hands, and stretch the dough on both ends until it is twice the length. Fold each end over on the center, as if you're folding a letter. Spray with oil, cover with plastic wrap.
- Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, then stretch and fold a second time.
- Cover the dough and let the dough rest for another 30 minutes, then stretch and fold a third time.
- After the third stretch/fold, cover the dough again, and let it rise for 60 minutes. The dough will grow but may not double in size.
Herb Oil
- While the dough rests after the third stretch, make the herb oil.
- Combine the ingredients for the herb oil in a small saucepan. Heat it gently, just until it's warm. Do not bring it to a boil. You should be able to touch the oil comfortably.
- Remove the oil from the heat and let cool until you pan and shape the bread.
Panning/Shaping
- Line a 17x12x1 inch sheet pan with parchment paper, using a whole sheet. (Don't combine pieces, which will allow oil to leak away from the bread.)
- Coat the parchment with ¼ cup olive oil, then transfer the dough onto the parchment paper. Keep the dough rectangular if you can.
- Top the dough with half of the herb oil. (It may help to make a trench so all of it doesn't slide off.) Use your fingers to dimple the dough and spread it to mostly fill the pan. The dimples/divots will allow oil to pool and make the bread extra delicious.
- If your dough is too springy to shape, you can let it rest for 15 minutes. Try to keep the dough the same thickness throughout the pan. It's ok if it doesn't fill the pan entirely yet, but do coat the entire surface of the dough with oil.
- Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight.
Day 2/Baking
- Remove the pan from the fridge 3 hours before you plan to bake it.
- Top the dough with the remaining herb oil and dimple it in. Coat the entire surface again. You will likely be able to fill the entire pan with the dough at this point.
- Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap again. Let it rest at room temperature for 3 hours. The dough will double in size and be about 1 inch tall.
- When it's time to bake, preheat your oven to 500F. 475F will be ok if your oven doesn't go that high.
- Once the oven's preheated, remove the plastic wrap. Place the bread in the oven, and lower the temperature to 450F.
- Bake the bread for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the bread is a light golden brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven, and transfer the focaccia to a cooling rack. (I usually keep the parchment on the bottom.)
- Cool focaccia at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Use a serrated bread knife for the neatest cuts.
- Focaccia is best on the day it is made, but leftovers can be stored in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Notes
Although I have listed volume measurements in cups for reference, I make this bread by weighing my flour. If you do not have a digital kitchen scale, pay attention to how the dough looks and acts (sticky, sticks to the bottom of the bowl) and adjust the flour and water amounts. The dough should be sticky (leaves residue on your finger when you touch it) for this bread to turn out.
If kneading by hand instead of using a stand mixer, it will take longer. Do not attempt with a hand mixer.
Bread flour will give you better results than all-purpose and will make the bread chewier. However, either can be used. Do not attempt gluten-free flour.
Since this bakes at high heat, don't bother using extra virgin olive oil, as those subtleties will cook off.
You can use fresh or minced garlic instead of garlic powder. Use ¼ cups fresh herbs of your choice instead of dried herbs, if desired. Use whatever combinations of herbs that you'd like.
Preheating the oven above the baking temperature makes the bread rise just a little extra.
Adapted from Peter Reinhart's recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I adapted the stretch and fold method in a greased container from hints on the internet.
Reinhart says you can add toppings to your focaccia. Anything moist (like mushrooms) should be sauteed first. Add dry or ingredients (that won't stick well), like nuts and vegetables, when you remove the pan from the refrigerator; this way the bread dough rises around them to keep them in place. Add high-moisture cheeses, cooked meats, and sugar when you put the bread in the oven. Add dry cheeses, like shredded mozzarella, when you rotate the pan, and baked for another 5-10 minutes.
Calorie count calculated in MyNetDiary and is an estimate only.
Originally published in August 2014. Completely rewritten, with new photos and updated recipe, in February 2025.
Nutrition
Calories: 188kcal
