Pesto focaccia bread is an easy, no-knead bread topped with a flavorful basil pesto and flaky sea salt. This slow-rise focaccia with three rising options is super soft with big bubbles and exterior crust that get ultra-crispy.
It is perfect to eat on its own, on the side of a delicious bowl of pasta or tomato caprese salad, or sliced and used to make an amazing sandwich.
Whether you've never made bread before or you make bread on the regular, this recipe for pesto bread has three options for the rise, including an overnight option, to suit your schedule and comfort level.
You can let the focaccia rise overnight and up to 3 days in the fridge, half of the time in the fridge and half at room temperature, or all at room temperature. The longer the dough rises in the fridge, the more flavor that will develop in the dough, but all options will result in luscious, fluffy focaccia!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Versatile - This pesto focaccia bread can be turned into many dishes! I love to make it on the thicker side so it can easily be sliced and turned into a turkey or chicken pesto sandwich. You can also use it as a pan pizza dough base. Simply bake the focaccia for 15 minutes, add your favorite toppings, and then finish baking. Or bake it in a classic style and eat it as a decadent bread for dinner!
Pesto - You can use store-bought or homemade pesto in this recipe, and both add amazing herby flavor and richness to this fluffy bread. And if pesto is not your favorite, there are lots of other options to top your focaccia with!
Fluffy and Crisp - Focaccia is such an amazing bread because it is fluffy, chewy, and crispy all at the same time. The dough gets coated in olive oil, so the edges and bubbles on top get extra crisp in the oven, while the insides are warm and soft.
Rise Options - The beauty of this recipe is there are several options for how to let the dough rise. This is important because it can take several hours for the dough to rise properly, so having options based on your schedule means you can really make this bread any time.
Ingredients
- Bread flour. This high-protein flour helps to make the flour extra chewy.
- All-purpose flour. This makes up the other half of the dough. Solely all purpose flour can be used if you don't have bread flour.
- Instant yeast. This variety of yeast allows you to mix all of the ingredients together at one time rather than having to activate the yeast (i.e. using active dry yeast).
- Honey. This is used to feed the yeast. 2 teaspoons of sugar can be used instead of honey.
- Extra virgin olive oil. This is a crucial ingredient in pesto focaccia, used in the dough, to coat, and to bake. Use a good quality, nicely tasting oil (nothing too bold). I love to use California Ranch brand.
- Pesto. Either homemade basil pesto or store-bought are great options to coat the bread dough.
- Salt. Kosher salt is used within the dough, and flaky sea salt is used to top the dough.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use store-bought pesto or make your own.
- Instant or active dry yeast both work in this recipe. Just remember that active dry yeast must get activated first before mixing into the dough.
- Half the recipe and bake in a 9x9-inch pan.
- Make the focaccia without any pesto or toppings and just add flaky sea salt on top.
- Swap out the honey for 2 teaspoons of sugar.
- While using half bread flour produces the best texture, you will still get a good result with just all purpose flour.
Focaccia Topping Ideas
The beauty of focaccia is that the topping ideas are endless. Some traditional toppings include herbs such as rosemary, sun dried or cherry tomatoes, olives, or caramelized onions. You can also make the focaccia more substantial by topping it with mini mozzarella balls and chopped chicken.
Or change the flavor profile altogether by topping it with different seasonings like everything bagel seasoning! You can really have fun with toppings on your focaccia, so think about your favorite flavors and give it a try.
Once the dough has risen in the pan, add your desired toppings, then dimple the dough with your fingers and bake according to recipe instructions.
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How to Swap Instant and Active Dry Yeast
Instant yeast is used in this recipe so you can just mix all of the ingredients together in one go, since it doesn't need to be activated.
If you'd like to use active dry yeast, it will need to be activated first (hence the name). To do this, reduce the amount of yeast to 2 teaspoons.
Add the yeast to the warm water and honey and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes. The yeast will rise to the top and become foamy all over.
Once it's been activated, add the liquid to the flour, salt, and olive oil and continue with the recipe as written.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Mix together all ingredients until completely moistened and a shaggy dough forms.
Two: Cover with a dish towel and allow the dough to hydrate.
Three: The dough will look slightly smoother after the first wait period.
Four: Wet your fingers, then go under the top side and pull upwards, jigging slightly.
Five: Fold the dough down onto itself and push down. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Do this two more times (a total of 4 stretch and folds).
Six: Cover the bowl and wait 5 minutes. Repeat the series of 4 stretches and folds. Cover for another five minutes, then repeat the series of stretch and folds again (three total series).
Hot tip! The dough will become more elastic after each period of resting. It will be quite smooth and supple after the final stretch-and-fold series.
Seven: Coat the dough in olive oil and turn it so it's completely covered. Wrap the bowl in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or up to 3 days.
Eight: After rising, the dough will have almost tripled in size and will be very jiggly and bubbly.
Nine: Coat the pan in olive oil, then turn the dough out and press it into the corners and sides.
Ten: Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 2-4 hours until it has completely filled the pan and is very jiggly. The amount of time will depend on your environment.
Hot tip! Fold the tops and bottoms under itself to help make it more rectangular after transferring it to the pan.
Eleven: Spoon pesto all around the dough. Don't put too much in the same area!
Twelve: Use the tips of your fingers to press down to the bottom of the pan and slightly forward. Repeat all over the dough, including the sides.
Sprinkle the dough with flaky sea salt, then bake until golden brown. Use a spatula to remove the focaccia bread to a wire rack to cool before slicing in!
Hot tip! Run the spatula around the sides of the pan to release any bread still stuck on the sides of the pan before trying to remove it.
Rising Options
Overnight fridge rise (how the recipe is written) - For this method, the bulk of the rise time will be completed in the fridge. Once the stretches and folds have been completed, the dough gets covered and added to the fridge for at least 12 hours, or up to three days. This slow-rise method will produce the best flavor in your focaccia bread.
Room temperature rise first, refrigerator second - After mixing, stretching and folding, oil and cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until it has almost doubled in size (about 1-2 hours). Transfer the dough to the oiled pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove the pan and plastic wrap while you preheat the oven, then dimple and bake.
Room temperature - After mixing, stretching, and folding, oil and cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size (1-2 hours). Transfer the dough to the pan, press it to the corners, and allow it to rise for a second time until it fills the pan and is light and jiggly (about an hour), then bake. This version will produce the least flavorful focaccia, but is still delicious!
During any of the room temperature rising options, if you are not quite ready to bake or the timing is off, cover the dough and put it in the fridge to slow the process.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to use a very large bowl because the dough rises quite a lot.
- Use the correct temperature water, making sure it's not too hot, so you don't kill the yeast.
- I recommend using high-quality olive oil as it is a main component and flavor in the recipe. I love using California Olive Ranch olive oil.
- Wet your hands and fingers when pulling and folding the dough to prevent sticking.
- Rise time before baking is dependent on how warm the room is where your dough is rising.
- You can place the dough in the oven with the light on for the final rise to create a warm environment, just make sure the oven is not on.
- Use wide fingers and press down to the bottom of the pan and slightly forward to help bubbles develop.
- Metal pans are the best conductors of heat to get ultra crispy sides on the focaccia.
Testing Notes
After more than 15 rounds of testing, I settled on this base focaccia recipe. Through making other blogger's recipes, I found what I liked best and was able to create a fool-proof method that creates a perfect focaccia bread every time.
I liked the hydration level from this easy focaccia, the folding technique from this no-knead version, and the chewiness from this bread recipe (though I ended up using bread flour instead of potatoes).
Ultimately, I landed on a 88% hydration dough with an easy stretch-and-fold technique with 5 minute wait periods for perfect elasticity. I wanted a focaccia that was thick enough to easily slice in half for sandwiches, but still ideal for slicing and dipping.
It has the perfect crispy exterior and fluffy, yet chewy interior and I'm so pleased with how this recipe has turned out, easy this recipe is to make.
Recipe FAQs
I use a dough whisk, but a firm rubber spatula or wooden spoon will also do the trick just fine.
Use a lot of olive oil and a high quality metal pan. I highly recommend USA pans.
Yes! This is an 88% hydration dough. Be sure to wet your fingers when folding and transferring the dough, and use lots of olive oil when dimpling so it doesn't stick to your hands.
It will be quite jiggly and airy looking. If you press your finger gently into the dough, it will leave an indent and then slowly spring back.
Storage
Store the focaccia in a closed paper bag so a bit of airflow can get to the focaccia. If using a zip top bag, keep about an inch of the bag open so air can circulate.
To freeze the focaccia, wrap the loaf or slices completely in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, and place in a zip top bag. Freeze for up to 4 months.
How to Reheat Focaccia Bread
Reheat the bread or slices of bread in a a 350℉ oven for about 5 minutes until the edges are crispy and center is warm.
To reheat frozen bread, unwrap completely and add it to a 350℉ oven (still frozen) for about 10 minutes until thawed, crispy on the outside, and warm on the inside.
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What to Know When Cooking with The Cozy Plum
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
- If you'd like to make the recipe in a different pan, use the pan size converter.
📖Recipe
Pesto Focaccia Bread (No-Knead)
Equipment
- dough whisk or wooden spoon
- 9x13-inch pan metal is best
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cups bread flour
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast 1 packet
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for coating
- 2½ cups lukewarm water about 110℉
- ½ cup pesto homemade or store bought
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- In a very large bowl, mix together the bread flour, all-purpose flour, salt and yeast.2 ⅔ cups bread flour, 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour, ½ tablespoon kosher salt, 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- Combine the honey, olive oil and water, then pour into the flour.1 tablespoon honey, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2½ cups lukewarm water
- Use a dough whisk or wooden spoon to mix the dough together completely until no dry bits remain.
- Cover the bowl with a dish towel and wait 5 minutes for the dough to relax and hydrate.
- Wet your hands and go halfway under the dough, lift up, and pull towards you, folding the dough over itself (going from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock).
- Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the fold. Do this turn two more times (total of 4 folds), then cover the bowl and rest for 5 minutes.
- Repeat the 4 folds and rest for 5 minutes. Then, repeat one more time for a total of 3 folding series.
- Drizzle the dough with olive oil and turn it so the oil is fully coating the dough and bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.
- Generously oil a 9x13” metal pan and turn the dough out into it. Use the tips of your fingers to help release the dough from the sides of the bowl, if needed.
- Gently fold the edges of the dough under itself to create somewhat of a rectangle (this does not need to be anything perfect).
- Use your fingers to gently push the dough to the sides and corners (it likely won’t go the whole way). Drizzle with more olive oil so it doesn’t dry out.
- Allow the dough to sit in a relatively warm place for about 2-3 hours until airy, jiggly, and the dough has completely filled the pan. I like to add the dough to my oven and turn the oven light on (do not turn on the actual oven).
- Once risen, preheat the oven to 450℉.
- Spoon the pesto in dollops all over the top of the dough, then use your fingers and thumbs (in a claw form) to press down to the bottom of the pan and slightly forward. Repeat all over the dough, pushing the pesto into the dimples and allowing bubbles to form.½ cup pesto
- Sprinkle all over with flaky sea salt.Flaky sea salt
- Bake the focaccia for 25-30 minutes until quite golden brown.
- Use a spatula to help remove the bread from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool. Do this within a few minutes so it doesn’t get soggy from the steam.
- Slice with a serrated knife and serve.
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Notes
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Ana says
This pesto focaccia recipe was amazing! This is the first focaccia I have ever made and it turned out so well! We're already planning out what flavor combo we're trying next. Thanks for the recipe!
Callan Wenner says
Yay! Thank you for trying it - can't wait to see the next flavor combos you do!