If I told you that you could make incredible bread without the use of a mixer and without needing to pull all of your muscle and weight into kneading until perfectly smooth and glutinous, would you believe that it’s even possible? This Kalamata Olive and Mozzarella Focaccia falls right into this camp and is quite possibly the easiest and most low-maintenance bread I’ve made to date. The crust is perfectly crisp and oily, rounding out each bite of the incredibly soft interior.
Of course, the toppings are fully customizable as well, so I guess I shouldn’t really call this a Kalamata Olive and Mozzarella Focaccia per say because you can add tomatoes or basil or any other topping you desire, but these toppings combined with just some salt, pepper, and garlic salt, add the perfect salty touch to this dough. Also, the olives and mozzarella are light enough to sit on the top of the soft, sticky dough and the combination is just so good.
My dad has been on this mission lately to craft the perfect focaccia. He’s gotten tips from various members about what makes a great dough. What I’ve learned from this venture, is that the perfect focaccia dough should be incredibly soft and wet, minimally handled, and should be placed in plenty of oil while cooking. And so that was how I approached this dough which immediately got the approval of both my Italian parents, earning a comparison to some of the focaccia my father had been trying to emulate.
The dough is minimally handled–with maybe only five folds, not kneads, at each step. The bubbles are noticeable from the moment everything is mixed together and they are key to keeping the structure of the dough once baked–you don’t want to knead these bubbles out, just gently strengthen the dough while maybe trying to incorporate a bit more air into it.
A key thing I like to do with all my doughs is allow the yeast to proof before adding it to the flour and salt. If you have a candy thermometer, I highly recommend you use it because 110°F-115°F is the sweet spot for allowing the yeast to grow. Yeast feeds off the heat, so stirring it into water that’s too cool won’t help get the bubbles you’re looking for while stirring it into water that’s too hot will kill it and keep it from growing.
There isn’t much of a hands-on commitment required here as most of the time needed is time spent waiting for the dough to rise. Once you smell this baking, you’ll want to keep filling up your kitchen with that fresh-baked bread and warmed olive oil aroma.
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15-18 minutes |
| Passive Time | 80-120 minutes |
| Servings |
9" round focaccia
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- 500 grams bread flour (all purpose works as well)
- 2 tsp salt
- 450 mL warm water (heated to 100°F)
- 4 tsp active dry yeast (14 grams)
- 75 mL extra virgin olive oil plus extra for the pans and drizzling over the top
- salt, pepper, and garlic salt for seasoning
- fresh mozzarella torn, for topping
- kalamata olives halved, for topping
Ingredients
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- In a medium to large bowl, weigh out the flour. Add the salt to one side of the bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the water until warm, but not yet simmering. If you have a candy thermometer, place it in the water and warm until it reaches 110°F. This should only take about 4-5 minutes on medium-high heat. Be careful not to let it get too warm as it will kill the yeast. If you touch it and it feels comfortably warm, it should be ready to remove from the heat and add the yeast to proof.
- Remove the water from the heat. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir it in. The yeast will dissolve into the water and will begin to bubble. Allow to sit and proof for 8-10 minutes.
- Once the yeast has bubbled, add all of the water and yeast mixture to the bowl with the flour and salt. Add in the oil. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine to a sticky dough.
- Lightly oil your work surface and turn the dough out. Using a bench scraper, spatula, or a lightly greased hand, fold the dough by lifting one side of the dough and folding it into the center. Only give the dough about 5-6 folds. Lightly grease a large bowl and place the dough in it to rise. Cover gently with a greased piece of plastic wrap and a clean tea towel. Allow to rise for 40-60 minutes until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has doubled, prepare your pans. Pour a medium-thick layer of olive oil into the bottom of your 2-9" cake pans. The oil should fully cover the bottom of the pan, but you should have enough so that you can gently swirl the oil around the sides of the pans to grease them and still be left with a light pool at the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
- Dump the dough onto your work surface, it will be incredibly sticky and should be very very light and full of bubbles. Gently use your bench scraper, spatula, or lightly greased hands to fold the dough another 5-6 times. Split the dough in half and place into the prepared cake tins. Gently push the dough to the sides of the pan. You might not be able to get it to the edge of the pan and that is okay, just try to even out the layer of dough the best you can. Gently cover both pans with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and cover both with the clean tea towel. Allow to rise for another 40-60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size and fills up the cake pans.
- Make sure an oven rack is placed in the center and preheat the oven to 450°F. Gently remove the plastic wrap from the dough, pulling slowly so that the dough falls away from the greased covering. Sprinkle each focaccia with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Tear pieces of fresh mozzarella and gently press into the surface of the dough. The dough will be incredibly soft and full of air bubbles so not much force is needed. Gently press in the kalamata olives. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top of the focaccia.
- Place both pans on the center-fitted rack and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. If you press down on the top, you should be able to feel when the dough is fully cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Tip the focaccia from the pans and transfer to a cooling rack. This focaccia is best when eaten still warm from the oven the day of baking.
If saving one focaccia or sliced focaccia, allow to cool completely then gently wrap in foil. Warm in the oven or a toaster oven the next day to allow the crust to crisp again.