My Overnight No Knead Focaccia requires no kneading and bakes up soft and fluffy, with a crispy crust. Easily doubled so you can make enough focaccia for everyone!
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Making bread can seem like a daunting task. I know, I've been there. But I've been working on this Overnight Focaccia Bread for a looong time and I've updated it to made it as easy and foolproof as bread can be.
Focaccia is a really high hydration dough, which means that it is wetter and looser than most bread doughs. That is normal and just what you want! The high ratio of water to flour, along with the fat from olive oil, gives you a lighter, more tender bread. Exactly what you came for!
You just spend a 20 minutes mixing and folding the dough, transfer it to the baking pan, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning you come back and bake. That's it! And if you don't mind a little morning garlic, you can top this focaccia with a vibrant mix of rosemary, garlic, and olive oil, to make sure you come back for another piece... and another, and another...
Folding the dough
Instead of having you knead the dough, I've borrowed the folding method from Bon Appetit's Basically recipe, which is a different technique from the usual "punching down" that you always hear about in bread making.
When folding the dough you are strengthening the dough by realigning the gluten strands, and you're also creating the air pockets and holes that are traditionally found in the crumb of a focaccia. All this leads to a more tender and airy bread. Yay!
Confession time: Sometimes I don't do any of the folds. Sometimes I just press it out into the pan and pop it in the refrigerator overnight. Then I just take it out and bake it. No garlic rosemary oil. Nothing. Just naked. And it's glorious. I feel no shame.
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Recipe Variations
For a focaccia that can feed a crowd, you can double the recipe and bake it in a 13X9 pan or bake it on a half sheet pan if you'd like it a bit thinner. Because sometimes you need more bread. A lot of the time you need more bread 😉
You can also easily divide this dough and make individual ciabatta rolls. Mixed the night before and ready in less than an hour in the morning, it is the perfect vessel for a delicious breakfast sandwich!
Want more easy yeast recipes?
📖 Recipe
Overnight Rosemary-Garlic Focaccia
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (300 g) warm water (110°-120° is best) 300 g
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar or honey
- 1 ½ teaspoon (6 g) instant yeast or active dry yeast (see instructions below)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 ¾ cups (330 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
Topping (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary about 1 ½ teaspoon when chopped
- 1 clove garlic grated
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Making the dough: Combine flour, kosher salt, sugar, and yeast and mix well
- Add water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to dry ingredients and use a dough whisk or another stiff utensil to mix until a wet loose dough forms and no big flour pockets remain. Cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
- Folding the dough: After resting the dough, you will fold it to strengthen the gluten and develop an airy crust.
- Starting at the twelve o'clock 🕛 position, use a slightly wet hand, or a flexible dough scraper, to grab the edge of the dough, pull it toward the center, and over to the other side of the dough.
- Turn the bowl a quarter turn and do it again, and continue until you've done four folds, all the way around the dough.
- Cover the dough again and allow it to rest for another 15 minutes.
- Overnight proofing: Spray your baking pan with a little bit of nonstick spray and then add 2 more tablespoons of your olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Transfer your dough to the pan, use a spatula, or your hands to press it out to mostly fill the bottom of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, up to 12 hours.
- In the morning: Remove your baking pan from the refrigerator and allow the dough to come to room temperature while you preheat your oven to 450°F and place the rack in bottom third of the oven.
- Make the (optional) topping: Strip the rosemary from the stems and chop. Using a fine zester, grate the garlic. Add rosemary, grated garlic, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and mix well.
- Spoon the rosemary garlic olive oil all over the surface of the dough and gently spread around. With your fingertips, press deeply into the top of the dough, almost to the bottom, to make the traditional dents found on the surface of focaccia.
- Bake on the bottom rack of your oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and brush the top with a little more olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if desired. Remove from the pan and allowed to cool on a wire rack until ready to eat.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
I have read and reread this post and recipe and have to ask...what size pan did you use for the original recipe???
This is one of my oldest recipes and I guess that slipped through. As you can see in the main photo, it is in a square pan. 8 or 9 inches is fine or you can use a 10 inch cast iron pan.
Thank you! Did NOT want to "assume" because you know what that does!!
This was delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it!