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.
Jennifer says
This is delicious--going to enter the rotation immediately!
I have a question, though--the first time I made this, using your flour blend, measured by weight, and following the directions to the letter, my "dough" came out more like a very liquid batter--I poured it into the oiled skillet and baked it anyway, and it was absolutely delicious, but not quite a foccacia.
My second time around, I watched your videos to see what the consistency is supposed to be, and added much less milk--like literally almost a cup less than the recipe called for--to get the look your dough had in the video. Better-behaved, still delicious.
Obviously the answer is "do what works," but do you have any idea why it could be doing this? The chemistry-teacher's-daughter in me is curious...:-)
Thank you! I love EVERY recipe of yours I've tried!
Kim says
It IS a more loose dough (almost batter like), but I have to ask what type of rice flour did you use in the blend? If you use anything but superfine or ultrafine rice flour, you will get a very, very loose dough.
Jennifer says
I used Bobs, because that’s what I can get…I wonder if that’s it?
(The first round was REALLY wet, like literal pancake batter. I couldn’t do indentations in it at all. Second was better shape but didn’t keep as well because, obviously, it was drier.)
I’ll see if I can find some ultra-fine brand and try again. Thanks for the response, and for these amazing recipes! (Your Hot Cross Buns last spring gave me back my favorite Easter treat. ❤️)
Rick Troiani says
I made it exactly like the recipe except for using Caputo gluten free flour and worked perfect.
Rachael says
This recipe is delish! My dough took a bit longer on the first rise, about 3 hours but it did double. We made sandwiches and wow, seriously so good. Topped with salt crystals and rosemary. Incredible!
Next time I will use a parchment line pan as mine stuck a bit.