Easy Overnight Focaccia - No-Knead! » the practical kitchen (2024)

This overnight focaccia has a super crisp bottom and pillowy, airy top. It's so easy and hands off to make and can be used for dipping in oil or sliced for sandwiches!

With an 8 to 12 hour rise time, you can start this focaccia recipe at night and bake it in the morning, or start it in the morning and bake it at night.

Top it with fresh herbs, cheese, or veggies — you can really get creative! I even used a riff on this dough to make a thick and fluffy focaccia pizza!

This overnight focaccia is actually a scaled up version of my small batch mini loaf pan focaccia, which uses just one cup of flour.

If you're looking for a fast focaccia, check out my No-Fuss Ligurian Focaccia, a speedy twist on Ligurian focaccia which is topped with a saltwater brine. For another classic overnight bread, check out my no-knead dutch oven bread!

Try serving this fluffy focaccia topped with everything bagel seasoning and shredded parmesan cheese, or slice it for sandwiches and serve it with deli-style tuna salad!

And if you find yourself with any leftover focaccia, it's perfect for making these crunchy homemade focaccia croutons!

🍞 Why Make Overnight Focaccia

While there is certainly no shortage of focaccia recipes in the world, my goal in developing this overnight focaccia recipe was to keep everything as simple as possible.

That meant using simple, accessible, easy to find ingredients. No using fancy flours or flour blends here.

That also meant minimizing the amount of work required to build strength in the dough before letting it rise. So this is a no-knead overnight focaccia; You don't need a mixer to make it, either. (You will, however, need a kitchen scale.)

A lot of other focaccia recipes I looked at required several series of folds over a long (or long-ish) period of time, or required a mixer to get going.

This overnight focaccia needs just two sets of folds in a 20 minute period. Then it goes right into the pan it bakes in and you're done handling it until it's time to bake.

Other focaccia recipes I looked at (including Samin Nosrat's amazing Ligurian Focaccia) had little work up front, but needed lots of careful stretching once you put the dough in the pan. This one does not. This overnight focaccia will relax and stretch itself out into the pan as it rises.

So if you're looking for a basic, beginner-friendly, minimalist focaccia recipe, this simple overnight focaccia is exactly what you're looking for.

Focaccia is one of my favorite breads in the world to make because there are so many ways to customize it.

From here you can take it and add any toppings you like. You can even turn it into a base for focaccia pizza! I can't wait to see what you do with it!

🧂 Ingredient Notes

Here's what you'll need to make this easy overnight focaccia. See recipe card for quantities.

• All-purpose flour - A lot of focaccia recipes use bread flour with its higher protein content for more chewiness, but I wanted to keep this focaccia as simple and basic as possible. So we're using good ol' all purpose here. Nothing fancy!
• Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in all of my recipes. If you're measuring by weight, it doesn't matter what brand of salt you're using.
• Sugar - Plain white granulated sugar. I tested a batch of this without any sugar, and the focaccia just would not brown on top and the bottom was soggy instead of crisp —so don't skip the sugar! You do need it.
• Yeast - I use instant yeast which can be mixed right into the dry ingredients. Just make sure not to sprinkle it directly on top of the salt, as salt kills yeast.
• Warm water - Around 100F. It should be warm to the touch but not hot. Anything over 110-120 will kill the yeast.
• Olive Oil - Use a high quality extra virgin olive oil here. I like California Olive Ranch's global blend, but any olive oil with a robust flavor is ideal. Focaccia is an oil heavy bread, so you'll definitely be able to taste it!
• Toppings - Fresh herbs, garlic cloves, veggies, flaky salt, black pepper, etc. (See "Focaccia toppings" section below.)

Bonus:If you have leftover whey from makinghomemade goat cheeseyou can sub it in to this bread recipe (and most bread recipes) in place of water without making any adjustments. It gives the bread a tangy, almost sourdough like flavor —basically a more intense bread flavor and is so good!

🔪 Instructions

Start by weighing your flour, salt, and sugar in to a medium sized mixing bowl. Give them a good stir to disperse the salt and sugar. Then sprinkle the yeast on top. This lets the flour act as a buffer between the yeast and salt.

Pour the warm water directly into the center of the bowl, followed by the extra virgin olive oil.

I like to use a dough whisk to combine everything because it's super efficient at mixing and knocking out any sneaky flour clumps.

You can also use your hands or a spatula if that's easier.

The dough will look super messy and sticky, that's okay. Dip your hand in a bit of water and gently fold the edges of the dough into the center.

The gluten hasn't had time to build any strength yet, you're just gathering it into a loose ball in the center of the bowl.

Cover the bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes.

After five minutes, you're going to perform a series of folds on the dough. This is super easy and helps build strength and structure so that the dough rises just the way we want it to.

Wet your hands and gently grab the top edge of the dough. Stretch it out and away from the dough, then fold it forward over the dough. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until you've gone all the way around.

Cover the bowl and let it rest 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, you're going to repeat the same set of folds. Wet your hands as needed to keep the dough from sticking.

This time you'll notice the dough is much stronger, smoother and stretchier. It just needed a bit of time to rest. (Resting builds strength — remember that!)

After the final fold, gently flip the focaccia dough over so the seam is underneath.

Spray your 9x13" baking pan with non-stick spray. Make sure to get the sides, too. Then drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil into the center of the pan.

Tilt the pan so the oil coats the bottom. (This is a tip I picked up from King Arthur Baking —the non-stick spray prevents sticking, but the oil is what will give you that crispy bottom!)

Gently slide the focaccia out of the bowl and into the pan. The seam side should still be down. If it untucks, just gently tuck the edges back under.

Cover the whole pan and let it rest overnight. ("Overnight" is baker for 8-12 hours).

After an overnight rest at room temperature, the focaccia dough will have spread out into the corners of the pan. It will look airy and bubbly and should jiggle slightly when you shake the pan.

If it hasn't fully settled into the corners, oil your hands and gently stretch the focaccia dough to reach.

It will continue rising while the oven pre-heats, so don't worry if it springs back a little.

About an hour before you plan to bake it, preheat the oven to 400F. Place the covered focaccia on top of your stove so the warmth gives the yeast one last boost of activity.

Thirty minutes before you plan to bake, drizzle the top with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Use your fingers to gently rub the oil around on the surface of the dough.

Then, use your oiled fingers to dimple the dough from top to bottom, pressing straight down until your fingers touch the bottom of the pan.

Top the focaccia with any fresh herbs you like —I went with fresh rosemary here — and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

Then cover the focaccia and let it rest on the stovetop for the remaining 30 minutes, or until time to bake.

The dimples should fill back in slightly but not completely.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F. The focaccia should be golden brown on top and have pulled away slightly from the sides of the pan.

If you slide a spatula under it (gently!) it should lift in one piece and the bottom should look dark golden brown and crispy.

Immediately run a knife around the edges of the pan, just in case any small bits got stuck. Then drizzle another 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top to finish.

TIP: Let the focaccia cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove it to a cooling rack to cool completely. You can transfer it back to the pan after both have cooled, but if you leave it in the pan to cool, the bottom tends to get soggy.

👩🏻‍🍳 Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• The temperature of your kitchen can have a dramatic effect on how quickly or slowly your overnight focaccia rises. An "ideal" room temperature is around 70-72F. If your kitchen runs cool, your focaccia will likely take closer to 12 hours to rise. If your kitchen is warm, it will be ready closer to 8 hours after you put it in the pan.
• For a spicy finish, use chili oil instead of olive oil when topping the focaccia. Just be careful to wash your hands right after if you use it to dimple —you don't want the capsaicin to get stuck under your fingernails.
• Adding the toppings halfway through the final one hour rise gives them time to settle into the dough. The dough will rise again after you dimple it, and you want it to surround your toppings so they stay on after it bakes.
• Don't over-dimple! I know, it's super fun and is tempting to really go HAM on this thing. But you don't want to knock all the air out of it, either.
• Focaccia is best served immediately, or within 12 hours of baking. After 12 hours the salt will start to dissolve and absorb into the dough, and the bread will start to dry out and become oily. You can still eat it, it's not harmful, but it won't look as good as it did on that first day.

🥣 Equipment Notes

You don't need a lot of fancy tools to make this focaccia. Here's what I recommend:

• Kitchen scale - I developed and tested this recipe using weight measurements. You will need a kitchen scale to make this recipe. Baking without a kitchen scale is very imprecise and can dramatically change the outcome of your recipe. Using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients ensures you get the best, most accurate results. They are inexpensive (less than $20!) and will make you a much better baker. I promise, a kitchen scale is worth it.
• Dough whisk - I use a dough whisk to mix my focaccia dough. A dough whisk is a sturdy, immovable metal coil that is super efficient at cutting through doughs to mix them evenly. It's great for breaking up any hidden lumps of flour in wet doughs like focaccia. If you don't have a dough whisk, use a spatula or your hands to mix the dough.
• 9x13" baking pan - I prefer using a metal or cast iron pan (like USA Pan's 9x13" cake pan, pictured here, or the shallow bottom of my Challenger Bread Pan) for focaccia — you'll get a crispier bottom that way. But a ceramic or glass rectangular baking dish, like a casserole dish would also work. You could even divide the dough in half and bake it in two square or round cake pans! For a thinner, crispier focaccia, use a half sheet pan and use oiled fingers to gently stretch the dough to fill the pan as needed during the final hour rise before baking.

🍽 How to serve focaccia

One of my favorite things about focaccia is how versatile it is. You can slice it into 6 or 8 squares to use as sandwich bread —I love it for deli-style tuna salad sandwiches.

You can also top it with lots of cracked black pepper to make Panera's famous black pepper focaccia sandwich bread!

Or, slice your overnight focaccia into thin strips and serve it up as an appetizer with some briny Greek olives or capers, a seasoned olive oil dip, or even smear it with roasted garlic and parmesan cheese.

⏲️ Storing focaccia

Focaccia is best served same day, but if you do need to save it for later you can always freeze it.

To freeze: Cool completely, then wrap well and freeze. You can freeze it as one big piece, but I recommend freezing it in thinner slices or squares (wrapped individually, then stored in a large freezer bag).

Defrost on your counter, then reheat in a 375F oven until warmed through.

Focaccia topping food safety: If your focaccia is loaded up with lots of veggie toppings you'll definitely want to wrap and freeze it, or wrap and refrigerate it rather than leaving it to sit out, especially if you're planning to eat it over several days.

The fridge isn't the ideal place for bread (cold temperatures speed up staling), but roasted veggies, garlic, onions, and cheese shouldn't sit out at room temperature for long periods of time.

💭 Top tip

Relax and enjoy the process! Focaccia is a low-key bread that is very hard to mess up. Time will do most of the work for you. Don't agonize over it too much.

If your focaccia looks ready to bake, get dimpling! If it looks like it needs more time, give it more time to rise. You got this!

💭 Focaccia FAQ - scaling, yeast types, cold proofing!

📖 Recipe

Food safety

• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.