Loaf Pan Focaccia

5 from 1 vote

This Loaf Pan Focaccia is an easy focaccia recipe designed specifically for a loaf pan. It is crunchy on the outside with a light and bubbly center drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with flaky sea salt.

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time25

Rise Time1

Total Time2 45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: loaf

Calories: 525kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

Ingredients

⅔ cup warm water 150g
½ teaspoon honey 4g
½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 7g + more for coating the pan and bread
½ heaping tsp instant yeast 4g or ½ standard packet
½ teaspoon salt 3g
1 cup +1 tablespoon bread flour 150g

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the warm water and honey and stir until the honey has dissolved. Add the yeast, salt, and olive oil and stir. Add the flour and stir to combine. The mixture will be very wet.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes in a warm place.

To work the dough, you will do 1 set of stretch and folds and 3 sets of coil folds. Because the dough is so wet, traditional kneading will not work. Stretch and folds and coil folds are simply names to describe picking up the dough and folding it over itself (described below).

It does not need to be perfect to turn out well, and even if you did not do any folds (just let it rise without touching it), you will still get a great focaccia. The folding techniques are included to create a nice interior structure.

Note: To skip the folding techniques, mix the ingredients, let rise for 1 hour, pour the dough into a prepared loaf pan (described below), stretch slightly, let rise for 1 hour. Then, dimple, add olive oil and salt, and bake as indicated below.

Stretch and Fold: After 20 minutes, rinse your hands with water (this prevents the dough from sticking) and gently grab a piece of the dough at the edge of the bowl, pull it upwards, and fold it over the remaining dough. The dough may stretch and break slightly. Do your best to fold it over the remaining dough before it completely tears.
Turn the bowl slightly, and pick up another piece of dough, pull it straight upwards, and fold it over the remaining dough. Repeat this 4-6 times until all the dough has been worked this way. Cover and let rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.
See images in the post above for guidance.
1^st Coil Fold: Rather than grabbing the edge of the dough in the bowl, to do the coil fold, with wet hands use two hands to pick up the center of the dough with one hand on either side (like you would pick up a big box). Pull the dough upwards slowly until it releases from the bowl. Place it back in the bowl, folding the dough over itself (it does not need to be perfect). Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
See images in the post above for guidance.
2^nd Coil Fold: Repeat the coil fold process, doing 2 coil folds. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
3^rd Coil Fold: Before doing the third fold, coat the bottom of a 9x5 loaf pan with olive oil (1+ tablespoon). Brush the oil up the sides of the pan. Do the coil folds, then place the dough in the loaf pan. With wet hands, stretch it slightly to fit the pan. It does not need to go all the way to the edges. It will do this on its own when it rises.
Let the dough rise for 50-55 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Prep: Drizzle the dough with olive oil and with wet hands use your fingers to dimple the dough all over, pressing to the bottom. This helps to release steam when baking.
Bake: Sprinkle with flaky sea salt or herbs if desired. Bake at 450°F for 24-26 minutes or until it is a deep golden brown on top.

Notes

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil rather than regular or light olive oil.
Flour: Use bread flour. You can use all-purpose flour if needed, but you may have more trouble doing the stretch and folds because it has a lower protein content. For best results, weigh the ingredients using a kitchen scale. If you do not have a kitchen scale, measure the flour using the “dip and sweep” method. Dip the measuring cup in the flour and use a knife to sweep off the excess.
Water to Prevent Sticking: Rinsing your hands in water helps to prevent the wet dough from sticking to your hands.
Rising in a Warm Place: Letting the dough rest in a warm place speeds up the rising process. Here are some ideas:
- At the back of a preheated oven.
- In front of a sunny window.
- In the microwave along with a mug of boiling water (do not microwave).
Rising in the Loaf Pan: Ensure that the dough does not rise for too long in the loaf pan. Otherwise, it will rise too high and stick to the sides of the pan. If this happens, when you dimple the dough, it will deflate too much and not rise as well in the oven.
Oven Temperature: All ovens are different. Some run hotter or colder, and some take upwards of 30 minutes to fully preheat (even when the oven indicates it has preheated), and some maintain their heat differently. Watch the bread to ensure that it has the right amount of color before pulling it out.
Allow the Focaccia to Cool: While eating the focaccia warm is delicious and hard to resist, you can actually taste the flavor of the bread more after it has cooled.

Nutrition