Rosemary Focaccia Bread (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

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

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