It's so easy to make this wonderful gluten free focaccia bread! It's light and airy with a crunchy top and bottom crust. Focaccia is flavored with olive oil, rosemary, sea salt, and a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
It's been a busy week for me and I missed my usual Wednesday post. My son shipped off to Navy boot camp on Monday and that's all I've been able to think about since.
It's definitely a mom's duty to worry about your kids, but this worry is a whole different ball game. I know he'll do well and I'm the proudest mom ever!! But I still need to hear from him to make sure he's okay. Unfortunately, that won't be for another few weeks.
To go along with my son leaving, my daughter just recently moved out. At least she's only about 15 minutes away. To top it all off, Scott is traveling again and is only here for about 6 days. He's leaving right before Easter. It's gonna be a pretty quiet house, just me and my fur babies (dogs).
I'll just have to immerse myself in recipe testing until I go to Disney World next month (woohoo!). This Disney trip is a short one with my daughter that was a college graduation gift to her.
Stay tuned for posts about what I eat at Disney!! If you've never been, you'll find they treat those of us with food allergies/sensitivities like royalty. It's literally the best place on Earth to vacation when you have issues with certain types of foods.
What Exactly IS Focaccia Bread?
Focaccia bread has always been one of my favorites. It's an Italian flatbread that can be used as a side or even as a sandwich bread. I first encountered focaccia bread at a local bakery and deli. They made the most wonderful sandwich with focaccia bread, and I've been hooked on it since.
The most traditional flavor used in focaccia bread is rosemary and I LOVE rosemary! But if you don't, feel free to substitute any favorite herb of your choice OR no herb at all.
How Do I Make Gluten Free Focaccia Bread?
This bread has to be one of the easiest breads I've ever made. Using my gluten free English muffin dough, I literally "threw" it together in less than five minutes!! And I might be so bold as to say that it was one of the best focaccia breads I've had! I served it to my family with spaghetti and meatballs and no one knew it was gluten free. We all loved the crunch of the outside and the soft, chewy inside.
After dumping the dough into a well-oiled skillet, add the rest of the olive oil on top. With your fingertips, dimple and push the dough out to the sides of the pan. See this video for my gluten free pan pizza to see how easy it is to spread this in a pan.
Allow the dough to proof for about 30 minutes. It won't double in size, just look puffed. Sprinkle chopped fresh rosemary, sea salt, cracked pepper, and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano all over the top.
Bake the bread for approximately 30 minutes. Cut into triangles and serve warm with pasta, or use as a sandwich bread (see notes below). *
Can I Make This Dairy Free?
Absolutely!! Several readers have said they've substituted the milk with dairy-free milk, such as soy or almond, and the butter with a dairy-free alternative, such as Earth Balance, or even olive oil. The olive oil will change the taste just a bit.
Gluten free focaccia bread is yet another way for us to enjoy bread. As a side to a great spaghetti meal or as a sandwich bread, focaccia is flavorful and so easy! If you're just starting out baking gluten free breads, start with this one 🙂
Gluten Free Focaccia Bread
Ingredients
Gluten Free English Muffin Dough
- 3¼ cups (455 g) Kim's gluten free BREAD flour blend
- 1 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon (29 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon rapid rise (instant) yeast
- 2½ cups (600 ml) milk
- 4 tablespoon butter, melted
Focaccia Bread
- about ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, weigh bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Whisk to combine. Using a stand mixer with the beater blade or a handheld mixer, turn on low and slowly pour in the milk and butter. Increase speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. You can use it immediately after rising, or refrigerate the dough for up to 7 days.
- Pour about 2-3 tablespoon of the olive oil into the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet* (See notes below)
- Dump half the dough** on top of the olive oil and add about 2-3 tablespoon more on top of the dough. Using your fingertips, dimple the dough and gently spread it to the sides of the skillet/pan. Cover and let rise until a little larger in size, about ½ an hour. (It won't be doubled in size).
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. When dough has risen, sprinkle the rosemary, sea salt, cracked pepper, and Parmigiano Reggiano over the top and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Serve warm with pasta or use as a sandwich bread by slicing pieces in half horizontally.
Barbara
I made the recipe for gf English Muffin dough, making a sweet focaccia similar to a recipe I saw in Bake from Scratch. I put half the dough in a 7 x 10 baking dish, lined with overarching parchment paper and oiled as in the above recipe by Kim. I made a mixture of 1/3 c brown sugar and 2 T cinnamon; then sprinkled half the cinnamon mixture over the dough before adding the rest of the dough and spreading it around with wet fingers. Then add 2-1/2 T melted butter to the remaining cinnamon mixture. This butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture was then dropped over the dough and gently spread around. Bake the focaccia as in Kim’s recipe: 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and drizzle with a mixture of 1/3 c confectionery sugar, 2 oz cream cheese, and 2 T milk. This makes a delicious light cinnamon focaccia. Thanks, Kim, for sharing your recipe. I’ll be making it again as a savory focaccia.
Caroline
I have made this numerous times and have found the second rise needs at least an hour and the bake time is around 45 minutes, with covering after 20 minutes bake time. My initial trials found it was very difficult to remove from the pan, but the longer baking has solved this. Kim, everyone loves your focaccia - thanks so much for your continued efforts to help all coeliacs!
Patrick
So I used Bob’s Redmill 1 for 1 GF Flour, Oatmilk, and Earth Balance to make it GF and Dairy free, using the same measurements, the dough came out more like pancake batter, is this still correct?
Kim
I cannot attest to using Bob's Redmill flour in ANY of my bread recipes, so that's most likely the problem. If you use my flour blend, you will see the difference.
Kim
While it is a loose batter-like dough, using Bob's Redmill flour will not work for any of my bread recipes.
Niki
I'm giving this 5 stars, but I need to explain myself! I'm absolutely not a baker and have no idea what I'm doing so I'm pretty sure I messed up a lot of stuff. ALSO: I've never had focaccia bread anyway so I don't know how it's SUPPOSED to taste. That being said... whatever I did ended up tasting great!! 1) I used Bob's Red Mill BLUE gluten free flour. 2) I used the wrong kind of yeast & didn't let it bloom or whatever. 3)I blended the hell out of it with a regular mixer. 4) Not surprisingly, the dough wasn't really rising, so I gave up and threw it in the fridge for the next day. 5)I accidentally used WAY too much olive oil, as I halved the recipe except for the oil. D'oh! 6) Baked it in my 12" cast iron skillet and. . . It came out crispy on the bottom and tasted very much like a delicious pizza crust!!! It wasn't fluffy by any means, but it was amazing. I'm going to try it again tonight and see what happens!
Kim
Well, that's awesome!! I'm glad it worked out, even with all the problems you faced.
Michele
After finding this recipe about a year ago, the flour blend and this bread have become staples in my kitchen. The bread recipe is so versatile and delicious. My only challenge is getting it out of the pan. I’ve tried every kind of pan… tried extra olive oil… but it inevitably sticks to the pan and I have to chisel it out. Any suggestions of a remedy for this issue?
Kim
Hmmm. Maybe you're not baking it long enough? I know if I use my stainless steel skillets, nothing will stick to them if I cook it long enough whereas I'll have the same problem if I don't. Try adding just 5 more minutes to the bake time and see if that helps.
Diane
Cast iron pans need to be well seasoned and preheated before adding oil, then allowing oil to also heat. This is also necessary when using Stainless Steel pans.
I would suggest googling specifics on this.
Lisa Bielss
This is the first time I've made anything with your bread flour blend. It was easy to work with. However, I found the dough was very wet. It rose and did everything it was supposed to do per the recipe. I was pleased with that. For the first half of the dough, I put fresh basil, pepper, sea salt, and fresh parmesan on top. I had to scrape it out of the pan (it stuck) - it is nice and fluffy. The second half of the dough, I used fresh garlic and parmesan on top. My kitchen smells wonderful. I'll use this recipe again (perhaps with a parchment paper liner so it will come out easier), and I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Linda Landers
This is a keeper!! Will be making this again and again! Delicious
Karen
I have made this recipe a few times and have determined that the batter should be divided between 2 containers (1/2 size larger than the batter) and left to rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 days. This produces a lighter, more chewy bread which is closer to a regular flour focaccia. I recently used the batter for pizza. It was fantastic.
Jennifer Nelson
Thank you thank you thank you! This bread was amazing! I am gluten-free, and my biggest weakness has always been bread. I don’t have celiac, I am just gluten intolerant. I cheat sometimes, and I pay for it dearly!! With your recipes, I won’t have to cheat anymore! I made the bread exactly as you said using your bread flour mixture. It turned out awesome.
Kim
That is awesome, Jennifer! I'm so pleased you like it!!!!
Meredith
Not sure what I am doing wrong but this seems to very finicky. First time I made it, it rose great and looked just like yours in the video, batter-like. However, when I put it in the refrigerator it collapsed and became very thick like cinnamon roll dough. I tried to get it to rise a 2nd time but it didn't so I threw it away without baking it. The second time I made it, I let it rise in the skillet for both times. When I dimpled it was very airy and similar to whipped cream. It was not very thick though it rose well both times. It was however delicious and everyone enjoyed it. It reminded me of thick pizza crust.
lisa
Hi ! I choose to try your flour blend to try the foccacia, it is just resting now. I can't wait to taste the result! It seems amazing.
I just wanted to inform you that after i saw that there was a bit of (raw) dough on the back of my hand and washed it, i started having a skin reaction. I don't have any allergies to any of the ingredients (to my knowledge) and i don't really have a sensitive skin. I just wanted to leave a trace in case i'm not the only one and there is an ingredient to be careful about that people should learn about in the recipe. (Also, it just may be an allergic reaction, but in case it may be helpful to others.
Richard Ashby
WOW!, Our daughter made the focaccia bread and it was fantastic. Absolutely better than any I’ve ever had. Even at any restaurant. Including any with gluten. I don’t need to eat gluten free but I’ll be making this from now on. I will be trying Yorkshire pudding this afternoon using you bread mix. I love Yorkshire pudding but our daughter needs GF and every recipe I’ve tried was a disaster.
Mary
Hi is the dough supposed to be mushy? I used a different gluten free flour, its mushy
Gabi
The recipe is amazing. The best gluten-free focaccia I ever had. Stunning!!!
Kim
So glad you liked it!!!