One of my earliest food memories growing up is browsing through a book my mom had on her bookshelf called The World Encyclopedia of Bread and Bread Making and being endlessly amazed at the different types of breads that existed throughout the world. I guess you could say I had always been a gluten fiend — something about the transformative nature of bread always fascinated me. And now, every time I travel I make it a point to try the breads local to that city.
Focaccia has always been a favorite of mine, not only is it ridiculously easy to make, but you can customize it however which way you want by adding all types of toppings. Most commonly served as a side bread with an italian meal, it is often seasoned with sea salt, garlic, and rosemary. This bread also lends itself to artistic customization — some people decorate their focaccia loaves with tomatoes, chives, and bell peppers. While I personally enjoy my focaccia salty, garlicky, and buttery, I had a bunch of summer peaches that were begging to be used. Ta da! That’s how this focaccia was born.
Adding thyme seasoned peaches to this focaccia makes it a little more sweet than your average focaccia loaf, but the liberal sprinkling of sea salt balances it out. Delicious straight out of the oven and on its own, this focaccia is extra delicious when paired with your next charcuterie board alongside some prosciutto, salami, and cheese.
If you’re a bread lover like me but have always been nervous about working with yeast or making bread for the first time, focaccia is the perfect loaf to start with. Why? The focaccia making process is very simple. This dough comes together in just a couple of minutes and requires no kneading, making it perfect for beginner bread bakers. Once the dough is together, there is a long overnight rise in the refrigerator, allowing you to make the dough ahead of time. This long fermentation period guarantees an airy focaccia loaf. Before baking, the dough rises one more time as it comes to room temperature. The toppings are placed right on top before baking the loaf for 20-25 minutes. Simple right?
How To Incorporate Other Ingredients Into Your Focaccia
If peaches and thyme sound too sweet for you, here are some other delicious flavor combinations to try:
- sea salt, garlic, rosemary
- parmesan, cherry tomatos
- caramelized onion, goat cheese
- garlic, sun-dried tomato
- bacon, cheddar
- pesto
Simply add your desired combination of toppings onto the focaccia dough before baking. If you end up making this or a version of your own, please let me know how it turns out!
This focaccia recipe was adapted from the cookbook Bread Toast Crumbs.
Peach Thyme Focaccia
Equipment
- 1 casserole dish
Ingredients
Focaccia Dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 2 cups lukewarm water no more than 100F
- 4 tbs olive oil divided
- butter or cooking spray
- flakey sea salt
Peach Thyme Topping
- 2 large peaches pitted and sliced into 1/4 inch wedges
- 1 tbs sugar
- 1 tbs fresh thyme (or use 1 tsp dried thyme)
Instructions
- Add flour, salt, honey, instant yeast, and the lukewarm water into a large bowl. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix the ingredients until a shaggy ball of dough is formed – all the liquid should be absorbed by the flour mixture at this point. Mix some more until a sticky dough ball forms. It will look a little lumpy – that's okay! Drizzle the dough with olive oil. It's important not to skimp on the oil to prevent the dough from drying out in the fridge. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap – This ball of dough is going to rise in the refrigerator overnight, for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days.
- On the day you're ready to bake your focaccia, prepare your sliced peaches by tossing them with the sugar and thyme. Line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper or grease with butter or cooking spray.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the center of the pan. Using your hands or two forks, gently deflate the dough by folding the sides of the dough into the center and rotating the bowl in quarter turns as you fold, turning the dough into a rough ball. Gently scoop your focaccia dough into the prepared pan. Roll the dough in the olive oil so that it's slick and doesn't stick to the pan. Allow the dough to rise uncovered and come up to room temperature, for 3-4 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen. The dough should expand into the sides of the prepared pan until it has about doubled in size.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack in the middle. Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the focaccia dough and with oiled hands, create the signature focaccia dimples with your hands by pressing straight down into the dough. As you dimple the dough, gently stretch the dough to fill the pan if needed. Top the dough with the prepared peaches, leaving out any extra fruit juices in the bowl. Lastly, sprinkle the focaccia with sea salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Start checking at 20 minutes to monitor how dark the peaches get during baking.
- Let the focaccia cool on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving!
- OPTIONAL (but delicious) step: While the focaccia is baking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and gently brush the melted butter over the focaccia after it is taken out of the oven.
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