Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, this beautiful no knead rosemary focaccia bread is super easy to make and deliciously addictive. Perfect for serving alongside this tasty carrot turmeric soup, with our popular easy creamy hummus, or even just with extra virgin olive oil! Gluten-free and vegan too.
Bread Baking Adventures
Ever since I started baking bread again this year, I’ve experimented with quite a few different types of breads. Some of the savory baking experiments that were insanely successful include this gorgeous gluten-free no knead bread, this easy gluten-free no-yeast naan bread, and this amazing gluten-free pizza crust.
I’ve also been baking quick breads such as this healthy gluten-free carrot cake bread, the best gluten-free banana bread (so good!!), and this flaxseed coconut bread, so you can say that I’ve been keeping myself busy baking plenty of bread.
One of the breads that has been on my “to-bake” list for the longest time was a rosemary focaccia bread. And last week I finally got down to testing this no knead focaccia recipe and we absolutely loved how it turned out.
What is Focaccia Bread?
Focaccia is a flat, oven-baked Italian bread that is similar in texture and taste to pizza dough. Mostly associated with Ligurian cuisine, focaccia comes with many variations and may sometimes be sweet and other times savory. A main characteristic of focaccia bread is the appearance of dimples on its surface, which is formed by making small “craters” on the dough before it is baked.
One of the most commonly served types of focaccia is focaccia with rosemary (or “focaccia al rosmarino” in Italian), which is often served as an antipasto, table bread, or appetizer in Italian cuisine.
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Vegan Rosemary Focaccia
Since we’ll be making a gluten-free version of rosemary focaccia, we’ll need gluten-free all purpose flour, tapioca starch, warm water, sugar, instant yeast, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and fresh rosemary.
How to Make Focaccia Bread Fluffy?
While it’s technically a flat bread, focaccia requires the use of yeast to create its fluffy interior (much like a pizza crust).
However, there’s no kneading required as gluten-free dough doesn’t contain gluten and hence kneading is unnecessary (same logic for my easy gluten-free no knead bread).
Preparing this Italian Focaccia Recipe:
Let’s start off by mixing the yeast, sugar, and warm water together in a small bowl. Set it aside and let the yeast poof until the mixture is foamy.
Tip #1: If the yeast mixture doesn’t foam, it means that the yeast has expired and no longer works. In this case, throw away the yeast mixture and start again with yeast from a fresh unopened packet.
Tip #2: If you’re wondering what sugar is doing in a savory bread recipe, it’s there as food for the yeast to feed on so the yeast will be activated. DO NOT omit the sugar because the yeast will not work otherwise. Don’t worry about the bread becoming sweet because once the yeast has fed on it, along with the salt that will be added, the bread will not taste sweet.
Once the yeast mixture foams up, combine the yeast mixture with 1/4 cup of olive oil and the apple cider vinegar in a large mixing bowl and mix well. Now add in the gluten-free all-purpose flour, tapioca starch, and salt and mix very well until you get wet and sticky dough.
Tip #3: Gluten-free dough is naturally sticky and will not have the consistency of normal wheat dough. Don’t be tempted to add more flour as too much flour will result in a hard and dense texture.
Preparing the Dough:
Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with greased parchment paper and shape the dough into a round disc approximately 1.5 inches thick. To shape the dough, use either a wet spatula or wet fingers so the dough doesn’t stick too much.
Now let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for the next 45 minutes until it has significantly increase in size (it will probably not double in size, but it will definitely be larger than before rising). Be patient here!
Poke Holes, Brush with Oil, and Sprinkle:
With the rising done, dip your pinky finger in water and poke small, evenly-spaced holes or dimples into the risen dough. This will create the characteristic dimpled appearance I mentioned earlier.
With the holes in place, generously brush the top of the dough with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil so the bread will brown all over and achieve a crusty exterior.
Finally, sprinkle fresh rosemary leaves evenly over the dough and bake at 400F for the next 45 to 55 minutes until focaccia is golden brown and crusty.
What to Eat with Focaccia Bread?
Now that the baking and waiting if finally over, it’s finally time to dig in! I can’t wait, and I’m betting you can’t help but want a bite of this gorgeous focaccia bread. The question is – what do you eat with it? There are so many foods you can eat with this Italian rosemary bread, but here are some of my favorites:
- Carrot Turmeric Soup (Gluten-Free)
- Pumpkin Soup (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Easy Creamy Hummus (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Grilled Eggplant Sesame Dip (Gluten-Free, Paleo)
- Roasted Red Pepper Dip (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Extra virgin olive oil
Other Delicious Bread Recipes You’ll Also Enjoy:
Since we all seem to be loving bread a lot, here are some of our favorite bread recipes on the blog that readers particularly love!
- Easy Gluten-Free Naan Bread (Dairy-Free)
- Easy Gluten-Free No Knead Bread (Dairy-Free)
- Easy Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread
- Gluten-Free Honey Oat Quick Bread
- Gluten-Free Skillet Cornbread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Pumpkin Bread
- Gluten-Free Flaxseed Coconut Bread (Paleo, Dairy-Free)
- Grain-Free Rosemary Almond Bread
- Grain-Free Coconut Cashew Bread
- 10 Easy Gluten-Free Bread Recipes to Make on Repeat
Rosemary Focaccia Bread (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
- Prep Time: 55 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, this beautiful no knead rosemary focaccia bread is super easy to make and deliciously addictive. Perfect for serving alongside this tasty carrot turmeric soup, our popular easy creamy hummus, or even just extra virgin olive oil! Gluten-free and vegan too.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (between 105F to 115F)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for brushing
- 1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 3/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoons salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Mix well and set aside for 5 minutes until it becomes foamy. If the yeast mixture doesn’t foam up after 5 minutes, that means that the yeast has expired and is no longer working. Throw it away and use yeast from a fresh packet.Â
- Once the yeast mixture is foamy, combine the yeast mixture with 1/4 cup olive oil, the apple cider vinegar in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
- Add the gluten-free all-purpose flour, tapioca starch, and salt to the bowl and mix well until you get a sticky but homogeneous dough (it is totally normal for the dough to be slightly wet and sticky because that’s the way gluten-free bread dough is. Don’t be tempted to add more flour or it will become hard and dry).
- Line a round baking pan with parchment paper, grease the parchment paper with a bit of oil, and then transfer the dough to the pan. Spread the dough out into a 1.5-inch thick round disc, using wet fingers to shape the dough. Place the dough in a draft-free space and let it rise for 45 minutes until it has increased in size (it will double, but will have increased significantly in size).
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- After the dough has risen, dip your pinky finger in water and use it to poke evenly-spaced dimples into the dough.Â
- Brush the dough with olive oil, making sure that even part of the surface has been brushed (this will create a crusty, golden brown exterior once it’s baked). Sprinkle the surface with fresh rosemary leaves and salt.
- Bake on the middle rack for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is golden brown and crusty.Â
- Let focaccia bread cool slightly before slicing and serving warm.
Notes
Tapioca Starch: If you don’t have tapioca starch, simply substitute it with the same amount of arrowroot starch or corn starch.
Sugar: The sugar used is for the yeast to feed on so as to activate the yeast, so you cannot omit it. If you don’t want to use sugar, you can use the same amount of coconut sugar, or half the amount of maple syrup or honey. It will not make the bread sweet later.Â
Toppings: This recipe uses fresh rosemary as a topping, but you could also top the focaccia with other fresh herbs such as oregano or garlic, or olives and even sun-dried tomatoes – the options are endless and basically up to you.
Serve this With: Extra virgin olive oil is my favorite choice when serving this focaccia as table bread. If not, you can use the bread to accompany soups such as my favorite vegan pumpkin soup or this delicious carrot turmeric soup. You can also serve this bread alongside our easy creamy hummus or grilled eggplant sesame dip.
Inspired by: My Easy Gluten-Free No Knead Bread Recipe
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: rosemary focaccia bread, gluten-free bread
I’ve been gluten-free for 9 years since I discovered I have celiac disease and I have missed yeast bread terribly. This bread is perfect! Thank you for the recipe. We make this bread several times a week now because it is so easy and so good.
★★★★★
Hi Charles,
Thank you so much for letting me know!! You just made my day – so glad you and your family enjoy this focaccia (my husband Juan has been Celiac for the past 6 years and he loves it too). Gluten-free bread can sometimes be difficult to make well, so I’m very happy this focaccia recipe turned out well for you! Again, thanks for your comment and amazing review. Hope to see you around the blog again sometime soon!
Felicia.
A very fuss free , easy recipe . The insides were soft however the outside was crispy/ hard making it tough to cut through. I baked the bread for 55mins. Is there a way to avoid it being too crispy?
Thank you
Hi Emma, thanks for your note!
What you can do is to tent the focaccia with aluminum foil in the last 15 mins of baking to prevent the outside from being too crusty (bear in mind that each oven is different and whether the bread was baked on the bottom rack/middle rack makes a difference). The higher the rack it was baked on, the faster the crust hardens/browns. So using the foil will help to prevent it from being cooked too much, while still allowing the insides to continue cooking. Hope this helps dear! Also, make sure you use a serrated knife (knife with a tooth-edge) for cutting breads as serrated knifes are perfect for baked goods with hard crust and soft insides – and will prevent the bread from being squished/flattened as you cut it. If you use a smooth-edged knife, it will be hard to cut, and it will flatten the focaccia too!
Hi Felicia,
I am new to GF cooking/baking and there is so much to learn! If I use King Arthur Measure for Measure flour, do I still need to add the additional 1/4 cup of tapioca starch to the recipe?
Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Lisa! Welcome to the world of GF baking/cooking! Indeed there’s always something new to learn … GF baking is like a lifelong adventure and I learn something new every time I bake! In this case, I would still recommend the tapioca starch, but maybe you could reduce it to 1/8 cup instead. Hope it turns out well, would love to hear how it goes 🙂
Hi Felicia, it looks like a great recipe and I would like to try it. What GF All purpose flour are you using? Also, was it a recipe that you modified to GF. I ask because I have my mother in law regular flour focaccia recipe that very similar in what you make. The recipe calls for mashed potato to be combined with the dough after flour mixed with yeast. I think I would like to make a GF version of my mother in law focaccia and experiment.
Hi Julia! The gluten-free AP flour I used is a brand from Argentina (made mostly of rice flour, corn starch, and tapioca starch and is dairy-free). I believe you can use the King Arthur all-purpose gluten-free flour, it should work in your mother-in-law’s focaccia recipe if you’re planning to make it GF 🙂 Hope it works!! All the best, and would love to hear how it goes!
Good morning Felicia,
This simple focaccia bread is a good bread I would like to bake as a side dish to compliment other dishes for dinner or simply to eat it on its own with my favorite olive oil.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Love and blessings always!
Mum
★★★★★
Yes, this is great for table bread! Remember when you were in Argentina and the restaurants would always serve us bread at the table? 😉