The flavors of sun-drenched Italy in your own kitchen.
Focaccia brings to mind images of warm Italian kitchens, herbs growing in the Italian countryside, and family-style meals that warm and comfort. This focaccia recipe with sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and olives is inspired by the warm Mediterranean sun, lush olive groves, and fresh herbs of Italy. But you don’t need to make a trip across the Atlantic to enjoy this recipe. We’ll show you how to make your own focaccia from scratch (hint: it’s easier than you think) and we’ll top that focaccia with the most delicious of Italian ingredients.
Focaccia is a bread made from dough similar to pizza dough. It is often enjoyed drizzled with a bit of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, or with some fresh herbs. Some cooks opt to use it as a kind of base for pizza, and load on toppings including meat, cheese, and vegetables. Our focaccia is made with whole wheat flour, making it a healthier option than dough made from refined, processed flour. It has the same great taste and texture as traditional focaccia, but with clean eating ingredients you can feel good about!
We’ve topped our focaccia with sun-dried tomatoes, which contain all of the antioxidants of fresh tomatoes, but with that delightfully tart flavor and unique texture of a tomato that’s been warmed by the sun. Olives and extra virgin olive oil have an earthy taste that complements the tomatoes perfectly, and mozzarella gives this the feel of pizza. We use low-fat mozzarella for a delicious cheesy taste with fewer calories and less fat.
Focaccia With Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
Whole-Wheat Focaccia
- 2 1/4 teaspoons dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar organic
- 1 1/2 cups water lukewarm
- 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- 4 1/14 cups whole-wheat flour plus extra for sprinkling
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
Toppings
- 20 sun-dried tomatoes preserved in oil amount depends on the size of the tomatoes
- 20 green olives pitted and sliced
- 1 tablespoon thyme fresh
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound mozzarella low-fat, shredded or chopped into small pieces
Instructions
For the Focaccia
- Crumble the yeast in a small bowl then add the sugar and about 1/4 cup of lukewarm water from the 1-1/2 cups. Mix well with a teaspoon until the yeast melts.
- Mix the salt with the remaining water.
- Put the flour in a large bowl (or better in a mixer) then add the yeast mixture, extra virgin olive oil and salted water.
- Mix the ingredients very well until the dough becomes smooth, elastic and a little bit sticky. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add more flour until you have a ball. Just remember that the less flour there is, the better it will be because the focaccia might come out dry.
- Take away the dough from the bowl, sprinkle some flour at the bottom of the bowl then put back the dough in the bowl.
- Cover with a clean cloth and let it rest in a warm, draft-free place for 2 hours or until the volume of the dough rises to twice its size.
- After the dough rises, transfer it on a well-oiled baking pan then flatten it with your hands. The thickness should arrive at about 1 centimeter or thinner if you prefer.
- Once flattened, make holes all over the dough by plunging all your fingers on it then prick it with a fork. Now you are ready to put the toppings.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Distribute the sun-dried tomatoes, olives and thyme on the focaccia. Push them lightly in the dough then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
- Let it rise again in a warm, draft-free place for half an hour.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes in the middle rack.
- After 15 minutes, take out the focaccia from the oven then sprinkle the mozzarella on top.
- Bake for 5 minutes more or until the mozzarella melts.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil before serving.
Nutrition Information
Have you made this recipe?
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This sounds amazing but we don’t have cubed yeast where I live. What kind of yeast should I use unstead ( and how much).
Memy, use 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast or one package. 🙂