Rosemary Focaccia

This focaccia bakes up on two sheet pans into golden, dimpled flatbreads brushed with olive oil and scattered with rosemary and grated Parmesan. The dough is soft and pillowy, with the kind of open crumb that tears apart in satisfying strips.

The dimples aren’t just decorative. Pressing the handle of a wooden spoon into the risen dough creates pockets that catch olive oil and hold it during baking. Those oil-filled craters are what give focaccia its signature crispy bottom and moist, almost fried interior.

Using coarse salt on top instead of fine table salt makes a real difference. You get little bursts of saltiness that contrast with the bread’s mild sweetness rather than an evenly seasoned surface that disappears into the dough.

Pro Tips

• Press the dough all the way to the edges of the pan. It will try to spring back. Let it rest 5 minutes and press again.
• Make the dimples deep enough to stay visible after the second rise. Shallow pokes fill in and you lose the oil pockets.
• Don’t skimp on the olive oil. The bread should look generously coated, almost swimming. That oil fries the bottom into a crispy, golden crust.
• Focaccia is best eaten the day it’s made. Day-old focaccia can be revived by warming in a hot oven for 5 minutes.

Variations

• Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella before baking for a pizza-style focaccia.
• Scatter pitted olives and caramelized onions into the dimples before the final rise.
• Brush with garlic-infused olive oil instead of plain for an extra savory kick.