No Knead Mini Focaccia Bread
This homemade, vegan No knead mini focaccia bread recipe is super simple to make! It turns out soft, fluffy and crusty.
Its a classic Italian bread topped with rosemary, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, the bread tastes delicious with crusty golden top and soft chewy inside.
Servings 6 Inch square bread pan
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup All-Purpose flour maida
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
To bloom yeast
- 3/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup Lukewam water
- 1 tsp Sugar
Other ingredients
- 1 tsp Garlic paste or powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 tsp Chilly flakes
- 1/2 tsp Mixed herbs
Toppings
- 6 Cherry tomatoes halved
- 2-3 Fresh Rosemary sprigs
Instructions
Bloom the yeast
- In a big bowl, take warm water, active dry yeast and sugar. Mix vigorously. Cover it with lid and keep in warm place for 15 mins for proofing.
- ( Dont use hot water otherwise it will kill the yeast)
- After 15 mins yeast mixture should be bubbling and frothy.
- If using instant yeast then skip this step and add yeast directly to the dough.
Prepare the dough
- In a bowl add all purpose flour (maida) and salt. Make a well in the centre. To this add half of the olive oil mentioned, all other ingredients mentioned in the list and pour frothy yeast mixture.
- Mix well with a spatula (not with hands) until it resembles to a shaggy dough.
- Then add rest of the olive oil, mix again, until you form a dough ball and the olive oil is well incorporated into the dough.
- If you wish to use your hands, I would recommend smearing some olive oil to your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands!
First proofing
- Cover this dough with a wet towel and keep in the sunlight or at a warm place for an hour undisturbed.
- Now it should be double in the size.
Activate the gluten
- Punch the doubled dough with greased hands and gently deflate it by pulling from all the sides to the bottom of the bowl.
- Now take a 6×6 inch square baking dish, grease it with oilve oil, spread the dough evenly covering the whole pan.
- Now drizzle olive oil on top of the dough, poke your fingers creating dimples.
- Spread halved cherry tomatoes and rosemary leaves on the top of dough.
Second proofing
- Again cover this dough with the wet cloth on top of the pan for second proofing for half an hour. The dough will double up in size again.
- Now bake it in preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes until brown & crisp on top.
- Once done, let it cool down on a wire rack.
- When serving, demould it, slice it with a sharp knife n serve it with dip of your choice. We love eating this with Roasted pumpkin soup or Mushroom soup.
Notes
1. If using active dry yeast, let it sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. However, Instant yeast doesn't require this step. You may add it directly into the flour.
2. Since I have made this Focaccia vegan, i haven’t applied milk wash or egg wash on the top of the bread. You may use any of the options if not vegan (this is purely optional).
3. The optional toppings i would highly recommend - your favorite fresh herbs, sun dried tomatoes, green or black olives, sliced red onions, caramelized onions or bell peppers works well.
4. For warm Summer days there is no issue to proof this bread but for colder days, you may keep the dough in warm place like inside the preheated oven.
5. Use the metal pan as they are easier to work with and less likely stick to the bottom.
6. Let the bread cool completely before cutting as this keeps the crumb nice and airy. If you cut it too soon, the focaccia may turn gummy.