Vegan Focaccia Bread Recipe
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Easy Vegan Focaccia Bread recipe made in a skillet with rosemary, black olives, heirloom cherry tomatoes and coarse sea salt flakes or “Fleur de Sel”. No knead, no mixer, probably the most delicious flat bread you’ll ever make. Perfect on its own or used to make Italian panini or even as a base for pizza. No eggs, no dairy, simple plant based goodness!
Vegan Focaccia Bread
An Italian oven baked bread similar to pizza made of all purpose flour, water and yeast and topped with herbs like rosemary or oregano.
Coarse sea salt flakes and other toppings like olives and tomatoes are also classic additions. It has a soft fluffy center with a lightly golden and crisp crust and edges especially when cooked inside a cast iron skillet. It’s usually served in Italian restaurants as an antipasto or as table bread alongside a great olive oil for dipping.
Making the fluffy focaccia dough
- Mix water with the yeast and olive oil.
- Combine the flour with the salt and work in my secret ingredient for the ultimate fluff: the mashed potato!
- Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix until a dough is formed. Allow to rise until doubled in size.
- Transfer dough to a 10 inch cast iron skillet and use the tip of your fingers to press the dough and create dimples.
- Lightly drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the toppings. Allow to rise again for 1 hour or until the dough looks light and fluffy and risen.
- Bake your focaccia for 25 to 30 minutes @400”F until lightly golden on top.
reheating leftovers
- Toaster – If you happen to actually have any leftovers, the best and quickest way to reheat them and crisp up the crust is in the toaster oven for about 20 seconds or so.
- Oven – Alternatively preheat your oven to 350”F, splash the focaccia with a little water and reheat for 10 to 15 minutes in a cast iron skillet until the bottom crust crisps up again. If pressed for time you can pop them in the microwave for 15 -20 seconds when nobody’s watching!
Toppings Ideas
- Fresh Rosemary
- Tomatoes, Fennel Seeds + Scallions
- Black Olives
- Chive Pesto
- Caramelized Onion
- Tomato sauce
- Roasted vegetable spread
- Fresh Blueberries
- Roasted broccoli or cauliflower wings.
Ciabatta vs Focaccia
Ciabatta is a crusty loaf of bread that features large holes throughout, while focaccia is an easy, quick fluffy flatbread with toppings similar to pizza.
Serving Suggestions
- This Italian peperonata
- Sun dried tomato pesto
- Soups & stews
- Pasta
- Chickpea no tuna salad
- Olive oil & balsamic vinegar
- Dairy free mozzarella
- Pasta e Ceci
- Italian tomato sauce
- This jackfruit stew.
watch how to make the best vegan focaccia
Vegan Focaccia Bread
Easy Vegan Focaccia Bread recipe made in a cast iron skillet with rosemary, black olives, cherry tomatoes and coarse sea salt flakes or Fleur de Sel. No knead, no mixer, no eggs, no dairy!
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup warm water
- 1.5 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup mashed potato (OPTIONAL)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Focaccia Bread Toppings:
- 2-3 tbsp black olive slices
- 2-3 tbsp cherry tomatoes slices
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- Fleur de Sel sea salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Add the mashed potato and using your hand work it into the flour.2.5 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 cup mashed potato
- Combine the water with the yeast and the olive oil and stir well. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and using a spatula mix until everything is combined and a sticky dough forms. Use your hand to knead for just a minute until the dough comes together into a ball.1 cup warm water, 1.5 tsp active dry yeast, 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Drizzle the top of the dough with a little olive oil then cover the bowl with a lid or a kitchen towel. Place in a draft free area (your oven is a great place) and allow to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours until doubled in size.
- Lightly oil a 10 inch cast iron skillet then dump the focaccia dough inside.
- Use your hand to spread the dough inside the skillet all the way to the sides. Using the tip of your fingers press all over the top to create dimples.
- Lightly drizzle with some olive oil then add your toppings: olives, tomatoes and rosemary or whatever you like to add here.2-3 tbsp black olive slices, 2-3 tbsp cherry tomatoes, 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- Finish with a sprinkling of Fleur the Sel (sea salt flakes) and cover with a lid or towel. Allow the dough to rise again at room temperature for another 45 minutes or so until the dough looks light and fluffy and risen.Fleur de Sel sea salt
- Meanwhile preheat your oven to 400”F.
- Bake the focaccia bread uncovered for 25 to 35 minutes until the top and the sides are a light golden color. Check at the 25 minute mark, sometimes it's done quicker depending on how many toppings you add as well.
- Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool off completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
- Instead of the cast iron skillet you can cook the focaccia bread in a 10 inch pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 259kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 2mg
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 259kcal
That looks so amazing!
Curious if you could sub part of the flour with whole wheat?
I’m sure you could, haven’t experimented yet but i suspect it will be a heavier bread. I’m going to try it using whole wheat pastry flour maybe half and half ratio and see what happens. I will update my notes if it turns out good! ~ Florentina
This focaccia is perfect and so easy I’ll be finding myself making it way more than I probably should. Comparable to the bread served in high end Italian restaurants, impressive!
Absolutely delicious, the only thing I did different was to add way more toppings.
What could I use in place of oil?
Melted vegan butter should work fine.
This recipe is GREAT. I made it with 2tbsp of olive oil instead of 3 and it came out perfect. Beautiful crust but soft on the inside. I warmed up the leftover and it was just as delicious as the day before. Love this bread!
I made this today, as a beginner to bread making, I found this recipe so easy & it came out great! So delicious, nice crisp crust! I just made it plain today but can’t wait to try out some different toppings
What canI use in place of the cast iron skillet? I don’t have one. This looks so amazing I want to try to make it
Hi Donna, you can use any baking dish or pie dish, anything oven proof will work really, just remember to oil the bottom and the sides well to prevent any sticking.
have you used mushrooms spinach r eggplant on it
Yes I particularly love sautéed mushrooms with onions as they get a nice caramelization during baking on top pf the focaccia.
Hi! Can you use gluten free flour?