Me, a baker? After successfully baking the most delicious focaccia, my baking skills have advanced from banana bread level to yeast bread level. In my book that is pretty up there which I initially thought was reserved for real talented bakers. (And I still do not consider myself one but I still cannot believe it that I.baked.a.focaccia.from.scratch.)

Before the pandemic, I did not have any interest nor think that I would be able to bake a bread with yeast. With this recipe that I found, not only was the focaccia that I baked was beyond delicious, it tasted like it was baked by a professional gourmet chef. It was so perfect that I can confidently say could rival the gourmet bakeshop down the street from my house. Totally unbelievable that I made it with my very amateur skills!

What is mind-boggling is that it was soooooo simple and so easy! Much appreciation for author’s clear easy-to-follow step by step instructions and photos. I am tempted to just provide the link and of course, the full credit to “Shockingly Easy No-Knead Focaccia” from Basically (Bon Appetit). However, voice of experience told me that the link might go bad or the recipe might no longer be available online (which happened to me before!).

I am providing the recipe in my own words with the full credit to the author I mentioned above. And so I can bake this bread over and over and over again!

EASY NO-KNEAD GARLIC AND SEA SALT FOCACCIA

5 cups (625 g) all-purpose flour

¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)

2 tsp honey

1 tbsp kosher salt

4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Olive (EVOO) + 1 tbsp EVOO + 1 tbsp EVOO (6 tbsp EVOO total plus more for hands)

About 1 tbsp unsalted butter for the pan

AFTER THE FOCACCIA IS FINISHED BAKING:

4 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

Flaky sea salt

2–4 garlic cloves

1. Whisk together 2 1/2 tsp or one ¼-oz. envelope active dry yeast, 2 tsp. honey, and 2½ cups lukewarm water in a medium bowl.
2. Let sit 5 minutes. You will know that your yeast is alive if its gets foamy or creamy. If it does not, you need to dump it and start all over again as it means that your yeast is dead or your water is too hot or too cold. (Check your yeast’s expiration date.)
3. Add 5 cups all-purpose flour and 1 tbsp kosher salt and mix with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms and there are no more dry streaks.
4. Pour 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil into a big bowl. (Make room for this bowl in your refrigerator.)
5. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with a plastic wrap and chill until dough is doubled in size. At this point, it should look very bubbly. Chill at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. You can also let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 3–4 hours if you cannot chill overnight.
6. Generously butter a 13×9″ baking pan (for thicker focaccia that’s perfect for sandwiches), or an 18×13″ rimmed baking sheet (for thinner and crispier focaccia.) (Buttering the pan is important to ensure that the brad will not stick.)
7. Pour 1 tbsp EVOO into center of pan.
8. In order to deflate the dough, while keeping the dough in the bowl, use a fork in each hand, gather up edges of dough farthest from you and lift up and over into center of bowl. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat process. Do this 2 more times to form it into a rough ball.
9. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Pour any oil left in bowl over and turn dough to coat it in oil.
10. Let the dough rise, uncovered, in a dry, warm spot until doubled in size. This would take at least 1½ hours and up to 4 hours.
11. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 450°. To see if the dough is ready, poke it with your finger. It should spring back slowly, leaving a small visible indentation. If it springs back quickly, the dough isn’t ready. (If at this point the dough is ready to bake but you aren’t, you can chill it up to 1 hour.) Lightly oil your hands. If using a rimmed baking sheet, gently stretch out dough to fill (you probably won’t need to do this if using a baking pan).
12. Dimple focaccia all over with your fingers, like you’re aggressively playing the piano. (This part was so much fun!) You will be creating very deep dimples in the dough where your fingers will touch the bottom of the pan.
13. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
14. Bake focaccia until puffed and golden brown all over, 20–30 minutes.

Did you make EASY NO-KNEAD GARLIC SEA SALT FOCACCIA? Please let me know by leaving a comment on the blog. Enjoy!