Wait! What? Focaccia you don’t need to knead? Yes! This super Easy No Knead Focaccia Bread with Rosemary & Sea Salt is virtually fool proof. As long as you are able to stir some ingredients together in a bowl & turn on the oven you can do it. And nothing, and I mean nothing, can beat the smell & taste of fresh focaccia straight from the oven! ♡
Good bread is one of my favourite foods, especially when it is fresh from the oven and slathered in my Easy Vegan Butter. And as much as I love it and want to start introducing some more bread recipes to the blog, I realize that when it comes to yeast and bread baking a lot of people have some kind of irrational fear.
I guess it stems from the fact that there is so much room for error. Everything is so variable with traditional bread making and no matter how good a recipe is, it takes practise to be able to get good results.
This Easy No Knead Focaccia Bread with Rosemary & Sea Salt is different though. It is virtually fool proof.
If you are able to put some ingredients in a bowl and stir them all together then you’ve got this. There is nothing more to it than that.
Fresh homemade focaccia, here we come!
HOW TO MAKE FOCACCIA BREAD
You can make this Easy No Knead Focaccia Bread in a few easy steps:
FOR INGREDIENTS & FULL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE SEE THE RECIPE CARD AT THE END OF THIS POST
STEP 1
Put the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix
STEP 2
Add olive oil and water and mix again
Step 3
Cover & leave for around 8 hours
STEP 4
Scrape the dough out and into a pan
STEP 5
Drizzle with olive oil & sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt
STEP 6
Bake
It really is that easy.
The only hands on time needed is a couple of minutes to mix the flour, yeast, salt and water together with a spoon, and later, a couple of minutes to scrape the dough into a pan and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle with rosemary and salt.
No kneading. No shaping.
All you need is a large bowl, a spoon, an 8 x 8 pan (or similar) and some patience.
I love USA pans for all of my bread and cakes.
Patience is everything when you make bread. It is impossible to get immediate results but every minute spent waiting is so worth it. I promise!
The rosemary infused bread smell that permeates your house while this little miracle bakes is the stuff of dreams. It smells amazing! When you break into that salt and rosemary scattered crust you will find a soft and fluffy interior that is just begging you to eat it. All of it. Now.
HOW TO SERVE FOCACCIA BREAD
This Easy No Knead Focaccia Bread is wonderful served warm from the oven or completely cooled. It makes the perfect accompaniment to soups, stews, pasta dishes and casseroles. It is also great used to make sandwiches (try it with my White Bean & Artichoke Sandwich Filling) and makes the most wonderful paninis.
Leftovers, if wrapped up well, are still soft the next day but it is best eaten on the same day.
ARE YOU READY TO MAKE NO KNEAD BREAD?
You have to leave the mixed up dough to rest for at least seven hours but up to nine will be ok. You can mix it up before you go to bed at night then bake it in the morning, or you can mix it up in the morning, head off to work, then bake it when you get home. Either way, you are this close to fresh Rosemary and Sea Salt Crusted Focaccia perfection!
If you aren’t a bread maker, then hold tight because you are about to become one!
Want more easy bread recipes?
For more great bread recipes, check out these very popular reader favourites:
Easy No Knead Focaccia Bread with Rosemary & Sea Salt
Ingredients
- 500 g | 3¾ cups plus 4 ½ teaspoons all purpose flour or bread flour cups measured by spooning the flour into the cups and levelling off with the back of a knife - do not scoop and do not compact the flour down by pressing on it as you fill the cup (in the UK use strong bread flour)
- 10 g | 1 very full tablespoon instant yeast or quick rise yeast . NOT regular active yeast
- 10 g | 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (see the recipe notes if you limit your oil intake)
- 450 mls | 1¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons | 15.2 U.S oz COLD water not warm water
- 60 mls | 4 tablespoons good olive oil for drizzling Just drizzle as much as you feel comfortable with on top - I like a bit more ;O
- 2 tablespoons fresh or dried rosemary
- sea salt flakes or crystals for scattering
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, yeast and salt then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the water and mix well until you can see no more dry flour and you have a wet, slightly lumpy looking mess. Make sure to scrape right into the bottom of the bowl. (See my picture in the collage near the top of my post above for reference).
- Cover with cling wrap or a clean shower cap and leave on the kitchen counter for a minimum of 7 hours and a maximum of 9 hours. Do not refrigerate and do not leave anywhere really warm. Just normal room temperature is fine.
- About 20 minutes before the time is up preheat your oven to 400°F and line an 8 x 8 square pan (a cake tin or brownie pan) with parchment paper. See recipe notes for tin alternatives.
- When the oven is at temperature, scrape the dough out of the bowl and into the pan. I use a dough scraper but a silicone spatula or spoon will be fine. It will be clingy and sticky but that is normal.
- Once it's all in the pan, flatten it out so it's as even as you can get it all over, then using a finger dipped in olive oil, make dimples all over the top.
- Drizzle over the olive oil (be as generous as you feel comfortable with) and sprinkle on the rosemary and salt.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 37 - 40 minutes.
- When done it will be starting to go golden brown in places on the top. If you want it a little crustier you can bake it for another 5 minutes but no longer as otherwise it will become dry.
- Remove from the oven, lift out using the paper as handles and place on a cooling rack.
- Leave to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
Rosemary says
I would like to make a thinner dough. Could I just flatten it out to fit a larger tin, and go from there ? Cooking time the same ? Would this give a crustier outside, with a soft inside ?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes put it in a bigger tin so it becomes thinner. I sometimes just pour it onto a rimmed lined baking sheet then spread it about with a damp hand or a spatula. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness but it’s quite forgiving and pretty easy to see when it’s done. Probably about 25 minutes if it goes in about 1 inch thick but that’s a guess so keep an eye on it. If you want it crustier, just cook it a bit longer until it’s as you want it. Te inside will stay soft.
Judy says
I made this bread yesterday and it turned out amazing for something so easy
😋
Kathy says
This recipe is amazing. The texture is soft with a slightly crunchy exterior and the flavor is delicious. Definitely worth the wait. I weigh my ingredients and it turns out amazing every time.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Kathy. I’m really pleased you are enjoying it!
Breadlover says
Hello, thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! Just wondering – could the dough be made more than 8 hours in advance and put in the fridge before it’s ready for baking ? Or would that give a less good result? Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I have made it and left it for the 8 hours at room temp then popped it in the fridge to delay things after that time when I’ve had to unexpectedly go out. It’s ok for a a few hours in the fridge like that. You might even stretch it to another 8.
There are so many variables that it’s really hard to give you an exact answer, but in theory it will be ok. You would just need to experiment with how long you can safely leave it in the fridge before the yeast runs out of steam and stops working. It’s such a wet dough that it’s hard to tell by looking at and poking it like you can do with regular bread. You need the yeast to have some oomph left when it goes in the oven.
You could also mix the dough up then put it right in the fridge then, but how long it will take to prove and be ready to bake will be a bit of an experiment. It could be up to a couple of days.
I would say for perfect results, follow the recipe. But there is a bit of give there with the timings. If you accidentally leave it an extra hour it will probably be fine unless your house is very hot, and I’ve even baked it after only about 4 hours with an ok result.
Hope that helps!
Connie says
Delicious and easy. I doubled the recipe and used 3 pkts of quick rise yeast divided between the two loaves. It looked like a lot, so used 11 inch round pans instead. Beautiful! I then made it into paninis using your White Bean and Artichoke filling. Everyone loved it! Thank you!
LeeAnn says
I will not be making this recipe again… because I have no self control and this bread is amazing!! I am typically a failure when it comes to yeast dough, but this really is dead easy. And delicious! Phenomenal stuff.
A Virtual Vegan says
I panicked when I first started reading, ha ha! Thank you so much LeeAnn. I have the same problem as you. I make it at least weekly!
Laurie says
Would this work with gluten free flour?
A Virtual Vegan says
Definitely not. It totally relies on the gluten development to be successful.
Rosemary says
I can’t stop making and eating this bread. It’s so good and so easy I don’t buy bread anymore. I mix whole wheat and all purpose flour though it it of guilt. Obviously the original is the best but the combo is still really really good. Thank you!!
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m really pleased you are enjoying it!
Glenn says
I’d like to make this but cannot find sea salt flakes or crystals at my local grocery. It seems kind of important to the outcome… Are there any suitable substitutes?
A Virtual Vegan says
As long as you use the regular salt in the dough, you can easily omit the flakes from the top. They do add a lovely texture and salty hit with each bite, but it’s still really good without.
My favourite brand of salt flakes are made by Maldon. They are incredibly good. You should be able to pick them up (or another brand) on Amazon if you do really want some. Hope that helps!
Beth says
Wow. I was skeptical of the extremely precise volume measurements (I have no kitchen scale… I know, I know, but here we are) but I was craving foccacia and figured okay, I’ll give this a shot. I ended up with dough I was worried was too lumpy, and I had to put it in the fridge overnight because I started it at an awkward time, but once it baked, wow. Best bread I’ve ever made. Perfect crumb, amazingly moist. Will make again. Maybe with a kitchen scale, even…
A Virtual Vegan says
I’m glad you enjoyed it Beth! The “dough” is a pretty lumpy one, then the magic happens all on its own. Quite amazing really!
Kim Arsenault says
I have made this four times and it’s just as good as the first time. Really absolutely delicious and this will be a favorite for always! Everyone just loves it!
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased to hear that Kim! I’m afraid to admit how often I make this recipe!! It’s a favourite of ours too.
Adele Rumbold says
So easy, my husband keeps asking for some to be made, a firm favourite already
Matt Taylor says
This recipe is a gem. Perfect each and every time. Many many compliments on the bread. Especially when served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip in!
Thank you.
Melanie McDonald says
I love it with balsamic vinegar and olive oil too! Glad you are enjoying it!